The Outlaw of Madain Sari
by Animic
Summary: Eiko doesn't want to be a princess anymore. She runs away and disguises herself under a new identity. Three years later, she returns and joins Tantalus. Nobody knows who she really is, but her identity is slowly about to be discovered. Blank/Eiko
1. Princess Eiko til Fabool 10th

**The Outlaw of Madain Sari  
**_------Adventures of Goro------_

**=-=-=-=-=-=**

**Yay! Another FFIX fanfic!**

I know Blank and Eiko is not a normal pairing but I thought it would be kind of cool to give Eiko a wild side. It is in her character anyway. This chapter, however, is before she turns into an outlaw. When she is still a princess dreaming of being something else. I was inspired by the EON Dragoneye Reborn book to write this, as well as FFIX and another fanfic I read about Blank and Eiko but the author stopped writing it so I'm taking the idea. Hope nobody minds :/ Hope you like this story, if anyone is reading it. haha.

**~~~ Animic (Egg) ~~~**

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**I**

Princess Eiko til Fabool 10th

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Eiko stared out her window, looking out on her town. Lindblum. After all of the adventures she had with Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, and everyone else, she was suddenly here. A princess. At first, she was more than happy to have a family. For the longest time, she didn't know what a family was. She was adopted by Cid and Hilda Fabool when she was six years old.

It's not that she didn't enjoy being around them. She loved her adoptive parents and, when she was little, even called them mother and father. But, it was different now. Being a princess wasn't all that it was cracked up to be and she was suddenly starting to realize it.

Eiko longed to be out in the world and exploring the world like she had with Zidane and the others. Now, it was too dangerous. Everyone knew her as Princess Eiko til Fabool, or the Princess of Lindblum. It wasn't fair. Apparently, it was too dangerous to go around Lindblum. Too many thugs and such. However, she had seen much worse. Treno, she could understand, but Lindblum seemed like such a peaceful city. Then again, she hadn't been in it for ages. She hadn't even seen it rebuilt yet.

Apparently, after Lindblum was destroyed by Alexandria, it wasn't the safest place in the world. Eiko didn't mind. She lived for danger, but her father wouldn't hear of it. She was confined to the areas in the castle and only in the castle. The royal part of the castle, anyway.

Today was her 16th birthday. Not like it was a big deal for her. She wasn't even sure if it was her exact birthday or not. All she knew was that it was in March. They just picked a random day to celebrate. Apparently, it was a huge event. Nothing Eiko would be too interested in. There was a knock at her bedroom door and she stood up, frowning.

When she answered the door, she saw all of her old friends. Zidane, Dagger, Vivi, and even Steiner had come to wish her a happy birthday. She hadn't seen them in what seemed like ages. She begged Cid to let her visit Alexandria but he was a bit hesitant about it. Cid was very protective over his little girl. Too protective, for Eiko's taste.

"You guy's came!" she said, extremely excited. Eiko greeted Zidane in a kind and emotional hug.

Not in that way. Eiko had gotten over her girly crush on Zidane long long ago. Besides, he was much older now and married to Garnet. They even had a four-year old son. He wasn't with them, though. He was being attended to by Beatrix back in Alexandria for the weekend while Zidane and Garnet visited Lindblum. Zidane had a kid and was the king of Alexandria. It was a bit overwhelming. Then again, she was a princess. It was just a stupid girly crush. She's a bit embarrassed about it now, but Zidane told her not to worry about it. That he'd done far worse stuff.

"Of course we came, Eiko," Zidane said with a smile. Eiko always made him feel like a little kid again. No matter how old she was, Zidane would always see her as that little six year old girl that helped them save the world. She was actually a very mature six-year old. "Happy birthday."

Eiko nodded with a small smile. Birthdays just weren't that exciting for her, she supposed.

"You're getting taller," Garnet said. She put her hand on Eiko's head and smiled. The last time she saw Eiko had been awhile, so of course she would have grown. Eiko nodded once more.

"Yeah," she sighed. Eiko wished she could get all excited and loving as she used to but she just wasn't a little kid anymore. Seeing all of her friends here just reminds her of all the adventures she could be having, but is not. "I'm glad you guys came," she told them.

Eiko couldn't manage a smile, even though her friends seemed more than happy to see her. Except Vivi, who just always looked depressed. Garnet sensed the uneasiness she had. She had felt the same way Eiko had when she was a teenage princess. Trapped. However, the circumstances were much different.

"Eiko. How about we all go out for lunch?" she asked.

"Cid won't let me," Eiko told them.

"You call your father Cid? That's very disrespectful," Steiner said, seeming offended. Eiko glared up at the rusty knight. Still hadn't changed.

"He is _not_ my father," Eiko hissed, reminding them.

The group exchanged glances of pity. They knew how harsh Cid could be. Hilda was the same way. Very overprotective of his little girl. Even if she wasn't his little girl, it didn't matter to Cid or Hilda.

"Uncle Cid doesn't need to know," Garnet said with a small smile. Eiko looked at Garnet, as if trying to see if this was a trap or not. Eiko hadn't been to Lindblum in so long. A large smile spread across Eiko's face at this remark.

"Okay!" she yelled enthusiastically.

"Why don't you go get changed into a commoner's clothes, then, eh?" Zidane said with a grin on his face.

Eiko smiled loudly at Zidane and Garnet. They must both know the feeling of being trapped. They figured that Eiko deserved some time out in her kingdom. After all, when Cid died, how was she supposed to rule if she knew not the land?

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Eiko was out of her room in an instant. Casual clothes that she hadn't worn in ages. To appease Cid, she decided to not look like a princess. She wore old overalls and a hoody. Very commoner-like she thought.

She stepped out to see Zidane and Garnet standing outside her door. Eiko looked around for any signs of her father but saw none.

"We talked to the guard and he is allowing you to leave. However, we must be back in under an hour and a half to avoid Uncle Cid's suspicion," Zidane said.

Eiko couldn't help but get excited. She grabbed Garnets hand and pulled her through the castle with Zidane to follow. Eiko was eager to get out of the walls of the castle. So eager.

As Zidane and Garnet took Eiko through the grounds of Lindblum, she was amazed. The last time she saw it, it looked like a dump, but now. Now it was full of colour and life. She couldn't understand why Cid had ever kept her from it. They took her into a small restaurant where they could all relax.

"What do you think?" Zidane asked.

"It's amazing," she said with a heavy sigh. However, she was getting a bit depressed. Her arms were folded on the table and her chin on top of them, staring at the salt and pepper shakers in front of her. Being out here in Lindblum just meant that she would never get to regularly be here. She was stuck in this dead-end family with nowhere to go. Nothing exciting happening ever.

"Why is Cid so protective of me?" she suddenly asked, after Zidane and Garnet had become quite quiet.

"He's only worried about you, Eiko. You are the princess of Lindblum, after all. It's a big title for such a small person," Garnet said with a small encouraging smile.

Eiko groaned, flicking at the menu with her finger. "Well, maybe I don't wanna be a princess anymore."

"Why not?" Zidane commented. "You LOVED the idea of being a princess before."

"I was a child then. It was just the idea of a family. I want to be in danger. I want to get in trouble. Travel. Go on an adventure. Not be stuck up in a castle for the rest of my life," she said. Eiko sighed. There was nothing she could do about it, though. She would be stuck here the rest of her life.

Garnet and Zidane would have responded, hopefully with something uplifting, but they were interrupted. "Hey, Zidane. What are you doing here?'

Eiko glanced up at the one who had interrupted them. She didn't recognize him. Must have been an old friend of Zidane.

"Hey! Blank!" Zidane said, sounding excited. He got up and started reminiscing with his old friend as Blank sat himself down at the table beside Eiko. Apparently, Blank had been in Tantalus with Zidane or something and the Tantalus group lived in Lindblum. Fancy that.

"I'd like to be taken home now, Dagger," Eiko said. Garnet nodded at Eiko and the boys stood up to let Garnet and Eiko out. Zidane explained that he wanted to stay with Blank and talk, so Garnet and Eiko left.

They didn't speak throughout the entire walk home. A lot of people pointed at the two as they walked, either recognizing Garnet, Eiko, or both of them as princesses. It was this stupid horn and her wings that gave her away. And her stupid long purple hair. She had grown it out since she got here to fit the whole princess look. Personally, she hated it, but Cid loved it. Apparently, short hair was too childish.

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Eiko had made up her mind. She was getting out of here. The journey to Lindblum was enough to open her eyes. She was stuck and the more she stayed, the harder the glue would press her here. Eiko knew she had to leave. Escape this place. She had to. And she planned to leave tonight.

She wasn't taking anything. Nothing at all. She was just going to get on Hilda Garde 3 and leave. Run. Far far away from here. She couldn't take it anymore.

As her parents and many others were preparing for her birthday celebration, she would sneak out. She dressed in her commoner clothes to hide her appearance and rushed down the stairs. There was not many people around. Cid was in meetings and planning her birthday all day today. She didn't know where Hilda was but probably where Cid was was where she was. They never had time for her anyway. It was good she was leaving. One less thing for them to worry about.

Eiko snuck out the door into the airship room where her father build airships. He had built many Hilda Garde's. There was a 4th one and a 5th one even. Cid had even taught her how to use airships and how to fly them. She knew a fair lot about airships and how they worked. It would be difficult, but she could fly it herself.

There was surprisingly nobody in the airship room. Probably all waiting for the celebration. It was the perfect day to escape. Eiko ran onto the Hilda Garde 3 and into the engine room. Quickly. She couldn't afford to lose any time unless she was discovered. She was pretty good with airships, though, so it didn't take to long.

About ten or so minutes after being in the engine room and fumbling around with the controls, she found herself in the air. She pressed the button that opened the airship doors to the outside and hopped on. Without another second, she was gone. Seeing Lindblum from an entirely different angle.

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Cid was panicking. He couldn't find Eiko anywhere and dinner was about to start. Everyone was there. Hilda, Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, Steiner, Quina, Freya, and even Amarant. Everyone. Literally. Zidane invited some guys from Tantalus. Blank, Marcus, Cinna, and Baku. Beatrix even came with the baby. The guards said they hadn't seen her either. Cid came in with strained eyes. So much was supposed to happen tonight. Where was she?

"Has anyone seen Eiko?" Cid exclaimed as he ran into the dining hall.

"I haven't," Hilda said, regretfully. She rarely had time to visit with Eiko. She felt awful. The others murmured that they had not seen her recently either. However, Zidane and Garnet remained quiet about their little lunch that they had that day. It was better left unsaid. Eiko needed that.

"Would you like me to check her room, uncle?" Garnet asked, politely as she lifted herself elegantly off her chair.

Cid heaved a sigh. "That would be most appreciated, Garnet. Thank you."

"I'll come with you," Beatrix said, standing up.

"Me too." Freya stood up as well. Hilda would have offered but she did not know the girls well. Besides, Eiko was much more comfortable with her old friends than her adoptive parents.

"They'll find her," Cid said, trying to assure himself.

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**Hope you liked it!! Review??? **

**This chapter wasn't ny best but it will get better. Trust me. :)**


	2. Fenrir Lorac

**The Outlaw of Madain Sari  
**_------Adventures of Fenrir------_

**=-=-=-=-=-=**

**Yay! Another FFIX fanfic!**

Hey. Sorry it took so long. I had written like four chapters and decided I wanted to go in a different direction. Instead of Goro being her name, it's now Fenrir Lorac. You'll see why later, but I think it's a bit obvious. haha. I like this chapter much more than the one I had originally. It goes at the same angle but I don't tell you as much about what happened during the three years. I like it better that way. Hope you enjoy Chapter II of The Outlaw of Madain Sari; Adventures of Fenrir. By the way, the chapter before says adventures of Goro. Ignore it, it's Fenrir now.

**~~~ Animic (Egg) ~~~**

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**II**

Fenrir Lorac

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**Three years later…**

Eiko had been hiking for miles. She was tired and she was dirty. To be totally honest, she didn't know where she was going, only that she had to get there as fast as she could. She was in so much danger.

She was originally going to go towards her father, but she just couldn't do it. There was no way she could get herself to face him. It's been three years. She's eighteen now. Eiko scarcely remembered him. It was a long time ago and to come back now seemed almost shameful.

She'd been climbing around the world map for nearly ages. Eiko was running away from someone. Someone who was out to get here and she couldn't bear to be so far away with contact. Eiko had decided to encase herself within the walls of Lindblum. She felt safe there. If anything went wrong, she could always try and get in contact with her father. That didn't mean she would want to be a princess again, but he could potentially provide her safety. That's only if something went wrong, and Eiko wasn't planning on that to happen.

She was taking extra precautions though. She would begin that process today. Eiko sat aside a near river, a dagger in her hand. She started making drastic chops at her hair. Her long purple hair that had grown out over the years was now flowing carelessly along the river.

Eiko was planning to disguise herself as the boy. People would recognize her as Princess Eiko otherwise. Not many people had purple long flowing hair, a horn, and wings. She was taking care of those changes.

Her hair was eventually cut into a boys cut and she let the last strands of her hair gently slip out of her fingers. Eiko watched the long purple hair float with the wind. Now came the hard part.

Eiko held out the dagger. She fingered its sharp blade and felt it's jagged pierces. She wasn't too thrilled about this idea, but it had to be done. The horn had to go.

She took her horn in her left hand and raised her right. She placed the knife as close as she could to the root of the horn that wouldn't pierce her skin. Without even a second thought, she cut fiercely into the horn.

As suspected, it was very painful. Doctor Tot said that Dagger was screaming bloody murder when they removed hers. Eiko was doing the same. It was agony. She felt as if it was barrowing needles through her skull. Her forehead was now bleeding badly.

Eiko looked at her left hand. It now held what remained of her horn. She decided she wanted to keep it. After all, it was in her heritage. It was sort of disgusting, but she did want to keep it.

She made a grab for her backpack, placing the horn inside one of the pockets. Not before rinsing it off in the river of course.

Trembling, she still felt the torture that the amputation of her horn left on her. It was literally the same feeling as cutting off an arm, she would suspect. That painful.

However, she was determined to make it to Lindblum. Maintaining a new image was necessary to her survival. She wouldn't last very long as people discovered her as the princess. Just wouldn't work.

Slowly, Eiko trudged towards Lindblum. It was in sights distance. If only she could reach it. She had lost a tremendous amount of blood from the horn. Something she should have suspected but was too weak to. At her rate, there was no way she could pay for medical attention. She didn't have any money. If she died, she died.

Finally the effects of the cut finally took over her. Eiko fell to the ground. Her face impaled the grass and she passed out, her blood a pool aside her face.

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Eiko woke up, surprisingly. She totally expected that the next time she woke up, she would be in heaven. Or hell. Whichever she was placed in. Or reincarnated. Anything but alive. But she wasn't dead. Eiko was alive. As she opened her eyes further for a better look, she realized she was in a room. Only one window and a pretty run-down place, in fact. Dusty and old.

She was in a bed, immersed under a blanket. Eiko was confused. Where was she?

"Oh, you're up," she heard from behind her. Eiko jumped and looked to see a boy standing at her bedside. He wasn't looking at her. He had his arms folded and was looking more at the ground. His stance was very relaxed, as if he had not a care in the world.

"Where….where am I?" Eiko asked, a bit afraid. Was she captured?

"The Tantalus Theatre ship," he told her.

Eiko recognized that name. Tantalus. Zidane was a part of Tantalus. A moment of realization came towards her. Tantalus made birth at Lindblum and it's airship was often parked near the Hilda Garde 3. Baku. The leader of Tantalus. Of course. Cid was friends with him. Very good friends.

"Nngh," she mumbled as she suddenly realized the throbbing pain in her forehead. She raised her palms to her forehead, wishing the pain would go away.

"We saw you passed out right outside Lindblum," the boy said. Eiko nodded. "What happened?" he asked.

Eiko's eyes widened. She could not tell the truth. That was for sure. Cutting off a horn sounded pretty suspicious. Even if they didn't know that the princess had a horn. She didn't have much time to make up a lie, but, hey, she was a kid once. In the past, she was tremendous at this. She just had to access her inner independent Eiko.

"Monster," she said as calmly as she could. It was clearly a lie. The boy seemed to see through it, too.

"You don't have to come up with a lie. Just say you don't want to talk about it," he said matter-of-factly. Eiko widened her eyes slightly and then hunched a bit.

"Okay. I don't to say, then," she told him. The boy didn't pressure her into what happened. He seemed to understand that it was none of his business.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. The boy seemed to straighten up as it opened. Eiko recognized the man as Baku. He was certainly older than the last time she had seen him, and even seemed a little thinner. But there was no mistake. It was Baku.

"Hey, boy," Baku said, addressing Eiko and nodded at her. At least they still thought she was a boy and didn't question it. Lucky for Eiko, she didn't have that large of boobs. She took that to her advantage. She didn't want large breasts. "Time to get 'im off the ship, Blank."

The boy named Blank made a T simple with his arms and Baku left the room. Blank looked down at Eiko.

"Are you well enough to walk?" he asked, rather bored. Eiko frowned slightly.

"My feet aren't injured," Eiko replied rather harshly. Blank made a grunting noise, indicating that he didn't care all too much whatever else she said.

Eiko got up from the bed, getting a bit dizzy already. But she forced herself up. Blank eyed her cautiously, expecting her to fall any second. To Blank, Eiko seemed like just a kid. A boy that didn't know any better.

Blank led her to the exit of the ship and got off onto the Airship dock. A place she hadn't seen in years. She pursed her lips together slightly. Standing far away from her, but easy enough to spot, was her father. Cid. The Regent. He was talking with some pilots. Not even noticing that his own daughter was walking right past him. Thank god for that.

"Ever been to Lindblum?" Blank asked.

"Many times," Eiko said.

"What's your name, kid?" he asked.

Eiko widened her eyes. She couldn't say her actual name. Eiko. She'd be captured right at the scene and taken into her old boring princess life. She came up with the first sound that came out of her mouth.

"F-fenrir," she replied. Fenrir. Of course she would come up with that name off the top of her head. Fenrir was her first summon. The summon that she learned on her own. It was a bit of a suspicious name but it wouldn't put up as much alarm as Eiko would.

Blank eyed her strangely. "Unusual name."

Eiko nodded, rather uncomfortably at that.

When they reached the Air Cat, Eiko sat down in one of the seats, rather uncomfortably. She wasn't sure where she was going, why she was here, or what she was planning to do. For now, she was just hiding from her past. The past three years were not the best years of her life. She was certainly free, but only in a matter of speaking.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Blank asked.

"Yes," she said, her voice shaking.

"You don't have to lie," he told her, harshly once again. "Do you have a place to stay?" His voice was demanding. This kid could see right through her.

Eiko dropped her head. She felt so weak. "No," she admitted.

Blank nodded. "That's what I thought. Baku has invited you to our hide-out. If you'll accept."

Eiko widened her eyes. The Tantalus hide-out. She remembered hearing about it from Zidane. It was apparently a dump. It was completely trashed whenever Lindblum was attacked so many years ago. It was most likely fixed up by now, though.

Eiko sighed. She felt like such a weakling. She must sound so stupid to him.

"I guess," Eiko said. She was still in very much pain. Her forehead was aching badly.

"Your head alright?" he asked.

"What do you care?" Eiko snapped. Clearly, the pain was affecting her mood. That, and the fact that she was being babied by some stupid Tantalus member.

Blank took her to the Theatre District where the hideout was. It seemed like forever until the got there but it was probably only about a minute. Eiko was exhausted. The hike here wore her out. Honestly, she can't remember much about how she even managed to get here. She ran to Lindblum all the way from Madain Sari. It was quite a trip. She travelled from town to town, through tunnels and cave. Nearly on the brink of death half the time. She hadn't had a proper bath in weeks and she wore the same clothes she has been wearing ever since she left Madain Sari.

When they finally reached the hideout, Eiko was about ready to pass out again. Her headache was getting worse. Turns out, cutting off that horn wasn't the smartest thing she's ever done. At least there was purpose behind it, though.

The door opened and she realized that the Tantalus hide out was, in fact, a dump. It was better than the last time she saw it, though, thankfully. A little shinier and homier, she supposed, but much smaller. Then again, not as bad as Madain Sari. Sand everywhere.

Many eyes looked at the two as they walked in. Eiko was already overwhelmed. Why were these people being so kind to her? It didn't make sense. It can't have been just because they wanted to.

Blank made the T sign once more as he spotted his boss, Baku. Baku made his way towards Eiko.

"What's his name?" Baku asked Blank.

"Fenrir, boss," he said.

"Fenrir?" Baku asked, sort of chuckling. "Fenrir what? What's your last name, kid?"

Eiko was terrified. Last name. She went with her gut. What's her original last name? Carol. Spelled backwards. "Lorac."

"Fenrir Lorac?" Baku said, a bit confused.

Eiko nodded at Baku. She looked around a bit, glancing a look at all the Tantalus members. All looked semi-familiar to her, though she could never for the life her remember their names.

"Why have you taken me here?" she asked, suspicious. Right now, she didn't trust them. Did they know of her true identity? That she was the princess? Or were they hired by Gilgamesh to capture her again.

"Relax. We're not gonna hurt you, kid," Baku said.

Eiko suddenly remembered that she didn't have her things with her. Her weapons. Her backpack. She felt around for her dagger hilt, but found nothing.

"And calm down. We have your weapons and pack," he said.

There was all of her stuff. She found her flute, her dagger, her sword that she stole from Treno when she visited, and her backpack. There was also something there that she'd rather they not have seen. A crystal with a chain around it. Her pendant. The pendant that everyone connected to royalty. She quickly grabbed it and put it in her back.

"We had to take that off so you wouldn't choke or somethin'," Baku said. Eiko examined all of them. "Where'd you get all that stuff anyway? You can't say you paid for it."

"U-uhm. Well...do you want the truth or the lie?" she asked.

"You steal 'em?" Blank asked. He was leaning against the wall, a smirk on his face.

Eiko widened her eyes. Wow, he was smart. Most of the stuff she had stolen. Like the dagger and the sword. Many of the items in her backpack were stolen except for a few items. The flute was her angel flute. Her summoning flute. The one that she got when she was about 7. The best flute you could get for summoning. The pendant was the only thing she took with her when she ran away from the castle.

"How did you know?" Eiko asked, amazed. Blank chuckled.

"Get the sword from Treno?" he asked. Again, Eiko nodded. She was about to ask how he knew it but he answered for her. "Tantalus is a group of thieves. I can tell when something is stolen and when it's bought."

"Well, fine," she muttered, a small smile on her face.

"That's a nice sword," one of the other Tantalus members said. "How'd you manage to get it?"

"I learned how to be a thief since I was a kid. It's how I survived," she told them. That was true. One of the only true things she'd told them all day. When she lived at Madain Sari all by herself, the only way she got food was from stealing from Conde Petite. She started that up again when she returned three years ago. "And I studied under a very stealth thief."

She then realized she said too much. Her master. Gilgamesh. Eiko didn't think she should have mentioned that. It brought back many bad memories.

"Who?" one of them asked.

"'m afraid that's confidential," she told them matter-of-factly. They let it go, actually, which is something most people wouldn't be able to do. Tantalus didn't go into her boundaries any more than she'd agree to. She liked that a bit.

"Well, seeing as you don't seem you have any place to live, how 'bout you join us?" Baku said. "You'd fit well here. What do ya say?" he asked.

Eiko widened her eyes. Join Tantalus. She couldn't think of a better thing to do. She would have a place to stay that would protect her.

"Sure," she told them. Inside, she was excited. Tantalus was such a famous band of thieves. She couldn't believe she would be accepted.

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**Hey, hope you liked it! Review?? **

**Do you like the new Eiko? **

**I might have gone a bit out of character but I don't know MUCH about the personalities of Baku and Blank so I just tried to remain as true as what I knew about them. Hope it's alright.**


	3. The Lost Princess

**The Outlaw of Madain Sari  
**_------Adventures of Fenrir------_

**=-=-=-=-=-=**

**Hey! Sorry for the wait!**

I got caught up with school and stuff. I'm sorry! But here's the third chapter. We're starting to get into what Eiko did while she was away and who exactly she's been running from. Yay! And Zidane and Garnet are probably going to have a major act in the story as well. W00t. Hope you like this chapter!

**~~~ Animic (Egg) ~~~**

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**III**

The Lost Princess

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Eiko woke up from the bed that she was given. All of the other Tantalus members were still sound asleep. Over the past three years, Eiko learned how to sleep less. Therefore, she could be alert on a more 24/7 basis. You couldn't trust anything in the wilderness. At any time, a monster could creep up behind you.

Eiko had seen more during the past three years than she had even when travelling with Zidane and the others. The difference was that she was alone. She had to fight off and kill creatures single-handedly without the comfort of her friends. It was a different feeling than being surrounded with team mates. One thing was for sure. She fought solo now.

She didn't change from her clothes from before, still having the dirty smelly clothes she'd had on every day. Eiko refused to take anymore. They were really ratty clothes. She made them herself from stealing fabric from Conde Petite. It was basically just brown pants, a white sleeveless shirt, and a brown vest. They weren't very nice, but she didn't care.

Eiko stood up from her bed and made her way, quietly, out of the Tantalus hide-out. She hadn't got a chance to roam around the town yet. It had been so long since she last came here. Everything was re-built and it seemed and good as new. All was well. It wasn't as bad as Cid made it out to be.

She walked around the Theatre District, deciding to visit the Business next. Maybe there would be a nice sword to steal.

As she looked through the windows, she saw a sign. A flier. It seemed fairly old. Torn in various places, but still readable. A picture was held there. Her sixteen year old self.

MISSING. PRINCESS EIKO TIL FABOOL 10th.

There was her picture. Long purple hair. Horn. Wings. And a picture of her in her old dress. Stunned, she started to walk away from the picture. They were still looking for her? After all this time?

"Poor girl," she heard. An old lady was looking at the flier right after Eiko was. "Still haven't found her."

"I bet she's dead," the old man beside her said. "Bones lyin' in a gutter somewhere. I don't know why they even bother."

"Edmund. Have some faith," she said.

"Pah!" the old man spat. Then, the old couple walked away.

Eiko was a bit stunned. People think she's dead? They probably thought she was kidnapped. Cid probably didn't want to admit to himself that his only daughter had run away. Even though he knew she had. This was all a little much for Eiko.

Trying to push the thoughts from her head, she continued around Lindblum until she had seen everything. She eventually landed at a bar in the Industrial District. Apparently, it had been rebuilt. Cid always talked about rebuilding the Industrial District. Perhaps he finally followed through. Her absence finally gave him something to do besides worry about her on a 24/7 basis.

Eiko sipped at her drink. It was non-alcoholic because the waiter wasn't convinced she was old enough. She was only 18, but she could really go for some alcohol.

"I thought you might be here," she heard from behind her. It was Blank again.

"What do you want?" she asked, slightly annoyed.

Blank smirked. "Nothing. It's just, Baku put me in charge of training you."

"Training? I already know enough about thievery."

"I know that," he said, rather insulting. "He just wanted me to go through with you that we're not all about stealing stuff. Two beers, Bobo," Blank said to the bartender. Bobo cast a disapproving look at Blank to Eiko but then sighed in defeat.

"I don't serve minors, Blank," Bobo told him.

"They're for me, dude," Blank said. Bobo sighed and placed the beers in front of them. When the bartender walked away, Blank slid the bar near Eiko, causing her to smile a bit.

"Thanks. I've needed one," she told him. Eiko held up her mug and gulped half the beer down already.

"Bad day?" Blank asked.

"Try a bad couple of years," she said with a sigh. Blank nodded as if he understood. "Anyways, you were saying."

"Well, it's sort of lame, but Tantalus is, publicly, a theatre group. You good at acting?"

Eiko almost smiled. Well, she'd fooled them to believe that she was a guy. That was saying something.

"Decent. Not perfect," she confessed. "I learn better by doing."

Blank nodded. "Yeah, I figured. All ya really gotta do is memorize lines. Not too hard. Or just make something up."

Suddenly, the door to the pub slammed open. Eiko recognized who it was immediately and became extremely vulnerable. It was Zidane. What was Zidane doing here?! Would he recognize her? Surely not. Eiko looked completely different now, but still. She couldn't take any chances.

"Zidane?" Blank asked, surprised.

"Oh, thank god," Zidane said, out of breath. He looked much older than when Eiko had last seen him. He had to be around 29 now. Wow. Eiko could hardly believe it. Their son must have been 6 or 7 by now. Time flies. They were pretty young to have a child but they were in love, Eiko supposed. It made sense. Not to mention they were a king and queen. Gotta fulfill the next generations rulers.

"What's up, man?" Blank asked. Eiko was hiding her face forwards, refusing to look at Zidane and to act like she had no part in their conversation. Zidane desperately plopped himself down in the seat beside Blank. Zidane put his hands to his face and his elbows on the counter. He looked like he hadn't slept in awhile, from what Eiko could tell.

"Dagger's gone," Zidane said. Dagger was another name for Garnet. Probably what they called her when they didn't want anyone to know who it actually was they were talking about, but Eiko knew. This news surprised her. Dagger was gone? But why? It wasn't unlike her, though, now that Eiko came to think of it. It was the same with all princesses actually. Eiko and Dagger, both, seemed to run away a lot. From anything.

"What?!" Blank exclaimed.

"She's gone," Zidane mumbled through his hands.

"Why?" Blank asked.

Zidane sighed. "I dunno for sure, but I think she's gone to look for Eiko."

Eiko stiffened slightly. What? How is that possible? Didn't they think she was dead by now?

"The princess?" Blank asked, a little stunned. Zidane nodded.

"Apparently, she was seen a couple days ago near Treno. I thought perhaps she might have come here to speak with Cid but I guess she's in Treno. She didn't even bother to take me. She just left. I dunno what to do. Damnit!" he said, aggravated.

She was seen?! Eiko was starting to freak out. How could she have been so careless? To walk around the Mist Continent still looking as the princess. She was such an idiot. Why didn't she cut her horn off sooner?!

"You mean she's not dead?" Blank questioned.

Zidane sighed. "Apparently not. I just don't get why she ran away in the first place."

Blank shrugged and turned back to his drink in thought. He eyed Eiko who had her had leaned away from Zidane but Blank didn't seem to notice.

"I dunno," Blank replied. "Maybe she was sick of being a princess."

Zidane sighed. "Bobo, beer," he told the bartender. When it arrived, Zidane gulped almost the entire thing down. "I just don't understand. She was so excited about being a princess before."

"Zidane, don't you wish you could ever go back to being a thug instead of the king of Alexandria?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. Sometimes."

"Maybe that's what it was. She's no more cut out to be a princess than you are to be king. No offense."

Zidane shrugged, drinking his beer once more. "None taken."

Blank studied Zidane for awhile and smirked a bit. "You didn't come to Lindblum just to look for Dagger, did you?" he laughed.

Zidane looked at Blank, confused. "Uhm, yeah, I did."

Blank chuckled. "No, you didn't. You did to compete in the Festival of the Hunt."

A smile crept onto Zidane's face. "Fine. There was another motivation to come. I'm not all that worried about Dagger. She's been on her own before, but I will go look for her when the hunt is over."

"I'll go with you too, I guess. Can't hurt."

**

* * *

**

Dagger crawled out of the boat and onto the dock in such a hurry that she almost fell off. She rowed here all by herself, worried sick. She was so worried about Eiko. All alone in the world. It didn't make any sense to her.

She supposed she should have guessed this was going to happen. The last time she saw Eiko, Eiko looked so bored and depressed. She had hated her life at the castle. But why didn't she come to Alexandria?

Perhaps Eiko was trying to escape everything and go back to her old life, but she couldn't see why. Yeah, that adventure was fun while it lasted but now it was very dangerous outside.

Dagger had her commoner clothes on. It was the only thing she could do to prevent others from pinning her to be the Queen.

Dagger took out a picture of Eiko and studied it. She doubted Eiko would be under this appearance. She would most definitely had changed it. The people who saw her in Treno, though, said she had long purple hair still and her horn remained. She can't have been that much different. The first person she visited was Doctor Tot. If Eiko went to anyone in the city, it would be him.

She knocked hard three times on the door, hoping he was home. Sure enough, the door opened and out came a large beak.

"Lady Garnet?" Doctor Tot said, surprised. Dagger shoved the door open desperately and started looking around the room.

"She's not here," he said. Dagger looked up him and gasped.

"Have you seen her?"

Doctor Tot nodded. "I have."

Garnet fell to her knees. So, it was true then. Eiko was alive and had been here in the city recently.

"Where did she go?" she asked, desperately.

"Lady Eiko kept me to my word and I'm not allowed to say. I'm sorry, my Lady," Doctor Tot said, leaning down next to Garnet.

"Doctor Tot…did she tell you why she ran away? Or what she's been doing? Did she look okay? Was she hurt!?"

"Relax, Lady Garnet. Eiko is fine. She was living at her main home, Madain Sari, for quite some time before she decided to come back."

"Why doesn't she wish to come back?"

"That's Lady Eiko's decision, Garnet. As far as she told me, she was tired of being a Princess and Regent Cid was cooping her up in the castle. You know Eiko, always on the look out for another adventure."

Garnet nodded, a small tear escaping her face. Doctor Tot wiped the tear off her face and helped her to stand, directing her to a chair.

"Is there really no way you could tell me where she's been?" Garnet asked, desperately. "I must speak with her."

Doctor Tot shook his head, sadly. "Lady Eiko trusted me with her secret. I cannot betray her."

Dagger nodded. She would just have to continue looking for her. She wouldn't give up till she found her. Not that she was this close to knowing where she was. Dagger made a slight bow and bid goodbye to Doctor Tot. She would figure out how to find Eiko.

She walked down the stairs of Doctor Tot's tower, hunched over. Where to go next? She felt bad for leaving Zidane at the castle alone, but she couldn't take him with her. Dagger needed to find Eiko so she could speak with her and try to convince her to come back. Perhaps she could have a chat with the Regent and have him be more lenient with her. That might get her to come back.

As she walked out the door, she heard something. People talking.

"Any trace of her?" she heard a man ask.

"None at all," a woman replied.

"What is wrong with you?!" the man yelled. "I didn't hire you to fail, Lani!"

Lani…where had Dagger heard that name before. Dagger inwardly gasped. Lani. The bounty hunter.

"Keep your pants on. I doubt she's here in Treno. What are the likes of the kid staying here once someone says openly that they've seen her."

They were…talking about Eiko. What did they want her for?

"Maybe she's hiding in the cave," Lani said with a small smile. "Little purple haired twerp would hid there."

Without another word, the man and Lani headed towards the exit to Treno. Dagger, scared, felt obligated to follow them. What if those terrible people found Eiko? What did they want from her? Dagger had to know. She followed them slowly out the walls of Treno, intrigued.

* * *

**It's about to get fairly interesting. haha. I'm excited. :) Hope you guys like**


	4. Festival of the Hunt

**The Outlaw of Madain Sari  
**_------Adventures of Fenrir------_

**=-=-=-=-=-=**

**Hey! Sorry for the wait! Again!**

Ohmygosh! I'm so so sorry! I've been caught up in so much stuff that I haven't had time to update. This chapter is shorter than my others and I'm sorry for that too :/ However, it is my Spring Break so hopefully I can get another chapter or two in. The problem is I have about 2 or 3 others stories that I'm in the middle of. Hehe. Oh well. Thanks for being patient :)

**~~~ Animic (Egg) ~~~**

* * *

**IV**

Festival of the Hunt

* * *

Eiko was trying desperately to get the thought out of her head that she was seen. She felt extremely foolish for letting herself go without being undercover like that. The only thing she was sure of was that she was not returning to being the princess of Lindblum. Under no circumstance would she go back. She wasn't even the rightful heir in the first place. Granted, Dagger was also adopted but this was different. Eiko knew where she came from at the beginning.

To get her mind of things, she volunteered to take part in the Festival of the Hunt. After attacking all those monsters near Madain Sari single handedly, these should be a piece of cake. Not a problem at all.

However, other evils were at hand.

***~*~*~*~*~*~***

The man and the woman entered the cave only to find nothing. They were not surprised though. It wasn't likely that she would have stopped at the cave. Eiko was too unpredictable to choose such a pansy hiding spot. Not to mention, her life was in peril. They gave one guess as to where she was.

"Nowhere in here, Gilgamesh," the red-headed girl named Lani said. Dagger hid in the cave just barely in earshot but far enough for them to not notice her.

"Well, we mustn't quit. I'm not going to let some pesky princess foil my plans," the man named Gilgamesh said through gritted teeth.

"Where do you suggest we search next?" Lani said rather frustrated and angrily. "Eiko is unpredictable and this is the Mist Continent. The possibilities are endless. She could just as easy be on any of the other continents as well."

"Eiko wouldn't do that. She may be unpredictable, but there is a pattern to her unpredictability. Rats often travel to their safe place. In this case, my bet is she's headed for Lindblum. Treno and Lindblum are linked through Gargan Roo. Besides, the Festival of the Hunt is soon. Not to mention, her father will be there for her protection when she becomes to chicken to verse us head on," Gilgamesh explained as Lani smiled and nodded along with him.

"To Lindblum."

"Not so fast," Gilgamesh said. Dagger perked her ears to listen. These people were after Eiko. But for what purpose? What had Eiko ever done to them? "I smell another rat here. Hello…Queen Garnet."

***~*~*~*~*~*~***

"Ready for this?" Blank asked Eiko, eying him slightly. Blank was a bit worried. He had never really seen her fight so he didn't expect her to be good at all. He always just thought of him as a weak boy and was frankly surprised when she signed up for the Festival. Eiko was confident, though.

"Definitely. I was born for this," she said with hunger in her eyes. She couldn't use her flute, which would have given her an immediate win. In the three years passed, Eiko had honed her summoning power. It was now stronger and more powerful than ever. Not to mention, she had learned some new summons. They had come at a price, but a decent one.

She was forced to use her sword that she stole from Treno. Not a bad sword, but her strong suit was her summoning, not her close combat attacks.

They were released and Blank was sent to the Business district while Eiko started in the Theatre. The beasts were shamefully easy. Capable of even an amateur to beat them. Just harmless birds, fangs, and zu's. It was simple. She conquered every animal in the Theatre and Industrial district and was on her way to the Business district. As she exited the station, she met her match. Staring her in the face was a monster she hadn't seen since Daguerro. A grand dragon. She'd never taken on one single handedly before. Eiko wasn't even sure if a beast such as this was allowed.

She looked up at the dragon that was easily ten times her height, if not more so. She gulped, nervously. For a beast like this, she'd need her summon magic but she didn't bring her flute. She only had her sword. Eiko glanced down at her weapon nervously. Would this be enough to take the Dragon down. She didn't even have the resources to use Reflect onto herself to repel his elemental magic. Eiko was screwed.

The Dragon charged her and Eiko, terrified, ran through the streets of the Business District, the Dragon flying at her heels. What was this? Why would they allow such a monster in the Festival of the Hunt? True, the monsters weren't supposed to be domesticated but she never imagined they would bring Dragons for the final touch.

Eiko felt a jolt of thunder hit her as she screamed and flew into one of the buildings, sliding down the brick. Her head throbbing from the impact. It was about to claw her right in the neck when she desperately moved. Eiko ran forward quickly and slashed it's throat which didn't seem to do anything. Her close combat moves sucked. She needed her summoning.

This time, the dragon successfully clawed her and sent her onto the ground. It was poison claw. Eiko winced as she felt the poison seep through her chest. It had hit her right in the breast area. Perfect. It was about to strike again when she moved just in time. Seconds later, another jolt of lightning hit her and she fell. Eiko was paralyzed. She couldn't move a bit.

The Grand Dragon raised it's hand to perform final blow when suddenly it was stunted. Someone had come and sliced it off guard and the Dragon howled in anger. Before she could realize it, she was being pulled off the scene by someone who she couldn't see. She did see that it was Zidane who had saved her. Zidane and Blank were fighting the Dragon. When she got a good look at the person who had pulled her away, she saw it was Marcus.

"Fenrir," he said. It took her awhile to realize he was talking to her. Eiko was still getting used to the name Fenrir. "Hey, stay awake. You ok?"

Eiko winced. She felt the poison creeping through her veins in her chest area. She took her hand away from the wound and Marcus realized immediately.

"Wait right here! Stay awake!" he said. Eiko winced, trying to stay awake. She watched Zidane and Blank with the Dragon. Zidane had indeed gotten stronger. And Eiko, weaker. She felt pathetic. Without her flute, she was nothing. "Blank! I need an antidote! Quick!" Marcus yelled.

Blank rummaged through his belt and took out a potion, chucking it at Marcus before going back to the Dragon. Marcus rushed over and picked her up, heading towards the Theatre District as he fed Eiko the antidote. Soon after, Eiko felt herself fall asleep.

***~*~*~*~*~*~***

Eiko slowly opened her eyes, feeling the pain still. The jolt from the Dragon was still effective. "Ungh," she groaned.

"Take it easy," somebody said. She looked over and saw Marcus. Eiko forced herself to sit up and realized her chest was bandaged. Her breast area…."I had to bandage up your wound. That Dragon got you good. I can tell your not good with close combat."

Eiko widened her eyes. He was leaving out the part she was most anxious of. If he had bandaged up her chest….then that means….

"So what's your real name?" he asked.

"W-what?" she stuttered.

"I don't think Fenrir is a girls name," he said with a slight smirk. Eiko opened her mouth to speak but no words escaped. She was completely silent. Her eyes were closed, staring at the bed. "Don't worry. I didn't tell the guys. I was the only one who tended you."

"Thank you…but I'm afraid I cannot reveal my identity," she said.

Marcus nodded. "You have my word…I will not tell the others. It's obvious it is important for you to remain confidential, whoever it is that you might be."

"How are Zidane and Blank?" she asked.

"You know Zidane?" he asked, a bit surprised. Eiko was, again, stunted in her speech. Marcus smiled slightly. "Forget I asked. They're fine. A bit beat up but if you know Zidane, you know he is strong. Stronger than most."

Eiko pursed her lips. She knew now that the Dragon was no coincidence. She was found. Gilgamesh knew who she was. Her identity. It was gone. "That Dragon was after me."

Marcus nodded. "Seeing as it was so keen on killing you, I'm not surprised. Whoever set the Dragon on you seemed to know your weak spot. What's your real weapon?"

Eiko sighed. "I cannot reveal that either."

Marcus smirked a bit. She truly was a mystery. "Very well."

Suddenly, there was a shout. A shout that made both Eiko and Marcus lift their heads.

"DAGGER!"

Eiko looked at Marcus frantically. He seemed to understand immediately that she knew who Dagger was as well. They both got to their feet in seconds. It was clear the voice belonged to Zidane. This wasn't good.

They ran to the outside of the Tantalus hideout and saw Zidane staring at three people. Dagger….and two others. A horrifying sight. Zidane had his hand at his hilt, prepared to fight.

* * *

**Hey! Hope you liked this chapter! It was alright. Not my favorite but I still liked it. Hope you did too. :) I realize that Blank and Eiko is a weird paring but oh well. What are ya gonna do? haha. I kind of like it, as weird as it is. Plus, it's different. Can't argue with that. lol**

**Review? Thanks for reading!**


	5. Welcome Back

**The Outlaw of Madain Sari  
**_-Adventures of Fenrir-_

**Yikes!**

I haven't updated this in like a year. Haha. Oh well. Updates will be random but, hopefully, they won't ever stop. I want to finish the story. It's just ideas keep getting shifted around. It WILL happen, just bear with me. This is super short and a lot of dialogue but wtv. I'm gonna put it up anyway. haha.

**~~~ Animic (Egg) ~~~**

**

* * *

**

**IV**

**Welcome Back**

**

* * *

**

Dagger was on the ground with two others standing above her. A man had a sword pointed at her throat and Eiko almost lost it.

"My mercy ends now, little one," Gilgamesh said with fire in his eyes. "Give us the jewels, or your little friend gets it." Zidane unsheathed his sword and made a run towards the man. "You move and she dies, monkey boy!"

Zidane gritted his teeth together and snarled at the man. Everybody was looking from Gilgamesh to Dagger to Eiko, not knowing what to expect.

"What's he talking about?" Blank asked Eiko. "What does he want from you?"

Eiko ignored him trying to quickly make her decision. But Gilgamesh was not being so grateful. He was jabbing the sword further and further into her neck until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop!" Eiko screamed. Gilgamesh smirked. Hesitantly, Eiko marched towards her former master, her head hanging low.

"I knew you'd warm up to me again, child. The jewels please," he said, outstretching his hand.

Eiko silently cursed and reached into her pocket, placing the jewel in his hand.

"There were two," he demanded, outreaching his hand further. Eiko groaned. She reached into her pocket giving him her second and final heirloom.

"You don't know how it works! It will fail you if you don't have the power to control it! It'll kill you, Gilgamesh!w" Eiko screamed at him.

Gilgamesh grabbed Eiko by the hilt of her throat and drew her face close to his. "Ah, Eiko," he said in a whisper. "Once I have all the jewels, I will find the people who do know how to control it. And they will work for me." He said with a twinkle in his eye. "If any of _your_ people follow us, I'll be sure to tell everyone your little secret, _Fenrir_." With that, he shoved her away onto the ground.

Gilgamesh and Lani then ran towards the gates and left quickly. Zidane gripped his sword and was about to go after them when Eiko screamed, "Don't!" she begged.

Zidane looked at Eiko like she was crazy. "Don't? What on earth are you talkin' about? Who the hell is this guy?" he demanded, pointing his finger at Eiko.

Blank rolled his eyes. "He's new." Zidane opened his mouth to protest but Blank interrupted him. "But he's right. Queen Garnet is safe as is Fenrir."

Dagger's eyes widened at this information. She looked at Eiko and squinted, studying her slightly. Eiko slightly panicked in side. She closed her eyes and shook her head, hoping Dagger would understand the message.

With tears in her eyes, Dagger nodded and Eiko sighed, thanking the lord.

Well, there goes another person to know her secret. Great.

"Why are you crying, Dagger?" Zidane asked, going to his wife and helping her to her feet.

Dagger shook her head and allowed Zidane to help pull her up. "I was just scared. I am sorry for whatever that man took from you," she said to Eiko. Eiko bit her lip. Dagger knew what he had taken from her. Dagger had two similar to it. It was a miracle and a relief that he didn't discover them and take them from her.

Though, Eiko knew that Dagger was asking her a question. "He doesn't know."

Dagger took a sigh of relief. "He doesn't know what?" Zidane demanded. "What doesn't he know?"

Gilgamesh did not know that Garnet had the other two pieces to Alexander and thank heavens for that. Eiko had been weak and relinquished her two but as long as he didn't know that Garnet had them, all was fine.

"What did he take from you?" Blank asked, curious.

Oh, great. How to describe this without going through a long explanation? "Family heirloom," she said. Technically, she wasn't lying.

Blank scrunched his face a bit. "What would he want with that?"

Eiko sighed. "It has slight…magical attractions that would catch the eye of thieves, naturally."

"What doesn't he know?" Zidane asked again. Eiko didn't answer.

"Zidane. I would like to be taken home now," she asked. Zidane's face softened slightly but then hardened, looking back at Eiko.

"Fine. You train that kid hard, Blank. Kid's a dunce," he murmured and then left with Garnet back to Alexandria.

Eiko took a sigh of relief and sat down, her hand twitching a bit. So, he took the jewels. Both of her jewels. She was such an idiot! She shouldn't have given them just to save her stupid identity. Zidane was more than talented enough to take Gilgamesh down. All Eiko cared about was her stupid name. She was selfish, even still.

The rest of Tantalus went back inside, thankful that all was well. They didn't care about what just happened. They didn't know.

But there was someone who was starting to put the pieces together.

He sat down next to her and looked at her. Marcus. "What did they really take?" he asked. Eiko looked at him oddly. She was sitting on the ground hugging her knees and burying her head into them. "Look, I'm not usually right about this kind of thing. But I have some kind of hunch that you're a person of importance. Or at least were. And he took something very powerful. I don't know how you know Zidane or Dagger, but, you know, Tantalus can help."

"I can't tell you who I am," she told him. Marcus sighed.

"Can you tell us what they took?" Eiko shook her head. "Why not?"

"Cause that would give away who I am," she told him. Her eyes were closed. Why was she so selfish? It was always about her. Only because she didn't want to return back to her stupid princess life. She wanted to be a thief. She wanted to live life recklessly and she would never be able to do that as a princess.

"Okay, so don't tell me what it is. But how important is it? What is it capable of?"

Eiko sighed. "It's capable of summoning a very powerful creature. Something that would not do well in the hands of a _thief_," she spat.

Marcus smirked. "You're a thief. We're all thieves."

Eiko shook her head. "This is different. I would never use its power. I couldn't, even if I wanted to."

"Why? Are you not strong enough?"

"That's not it." Eiko sighed. "I don't have all the pieces."

"How many pieces are there?" he asked. Eiko held up her hand and put up four fingers. "And he took two?" Eiko nodded. "So, who has the other two?"

Eiko sighed. "Dagger, but Gilgamesh doesn't know that, thankfully."

"Was he your master?" Marcus asked. Eiko nodded.

"I don't really want to talk about that."

"Did you love him?" he asked. Eiko widened her eyes. Man, he was inquisitive!

"How did you-"

"I notice things," he said. "Like the way you looked at him and how you two talked. Look, it's none of my business so I won't ask you anything else. But I do have one more thing to say."

"What?"

"Welcome back, Princess Eiko."


	6. The Red Spot

_|| So these next chapters are just going to be short and you'll just have to deal with it. I realized I'm terrible at updating this site. I was reading some of my old stories and came across this one so I sat down and wrote like, three chapters. All of which I will be updating! It's not fair to you guys. Anyway. It's kinda short but I've been doing some re-planning so it's better than what I had before. I do hope I get the characterization down right. That's my main focus. _

_Reviews or messages are always appreciated! I'd like to know if I'm getting my characterization down! It's not that I struggle with, it's just characterization is very important to me. Anything else you have to say is fine, too. You want to flame, go right ahead. haha. I don't care XD _

_I don't have a beta so, any mistakes you see, I am truthfully sorry.||_

* * *

**VI  
**The Red Spot

* * *

Eiko ran into her small bunk bed at Tantalus and immediately began packing the small amount of objects she had remaining. It took her about five seconds to notice something. Her flute was missing. Her angel flute. Panicking a little, she began to search more through her bag, hoping she would find it. They must have come in and stole it while she was fighting in the Festival of the Hunt. All of Tantalus would have been out and Gilgamesh was a master thief. It must have been so easy….Inside her bag was a note, and it made Eiko just about have a heart attack.

It was a square piece of paper with a red spot on it. That's all it was. She resisted the urge to barf as she quickly began to pack her backpack with major necessities: Clothes, her sword, and some food. As she made her way towards the door, she felt someone grab her pack out of her arms and she squealed a little, looking up at the thief. Blank was behind her, smirking, holding her pack.

"And just where do you think you're going?" he asked.

Eiko swallowed a gulp. She couldn't tell him anything. Not without giving away her identity. These guys were friends with Zidane and Dagger. Surely they knew the jewels she held and what they could do. They would also know that the other two were kept by Princess Eiko. This was decided after the war that Dagger and Eiko were the most logical beings to keep them, them being the remainder of the summoner tribe.

Good thing Tantalus was filled with a bunch of intellectual idiots who wouldn't know a summon gem from a rock.

"To get my heirlooms back," she said. It was true, in a way.

Blank looked at her strangely. "I'm not stupid. That was Gilgamesh. It's not worth dying for, Fenrir; he'll kill you, you know that."

"Then I will die trying!" she yelled.

Blank seemed a little taken aback and a small smirk went onto his face. Eiko's stern expression did not fade. "Then, I'm coming with ya."

"This is my business, not yours. Now give me my pack!"

"You made a commitment," she heard someone say. "It's Tantalus's business now. We're comin' with ya." It wasn't said by Blank. Both of them turned around and saw Marcus coming up. He went behind Blank and grabbed Eiko's backpack, knowing it probably contained important information, and handed it back to her.

Eiko couldn't help but smile like a foolish girl. Even with all her pride, she had to admit she was slightly more comfortable knowing there would be two strong guys at her side, protecting her. And Marcus knew who she was. He would do everything in his power to protect her.

True to his word, he hadn't breathed a scent of truth to the other Tantalus members about who she secretly was. She trusted him.

"So, where we goin'?" Blank asked.

Eiko looked at Marcus with a slightly agonized gaze. "He's in Alexandria," she said, almost at a whisper. Marcus didn't seem to fully understand but he knew that they wouldn't be in Alexandria for the theatre. Who lived in Alexandria? Zidane, Garnet…their son, Leon. They were in danger…

"How do you know for sure?" Blank asked, clearly not getting the seriousness behind this situation.

"I just know."

They managed to get a ship heading to Alexandria for a fairly cheap price. They told Baku of the situation and he approved of them leaving, but only those three. No more. Just in case the bastard came back, he would need some protection. Eiko couldn't argue with it. For all Baku knew, this was going to be simple and safe. He didn't know the real truth. If he did…well…things might have been a bit different.

As they were boarding and Blank made his way to the top of the ship, Marcus led Eiko down, forcefully. Eiko had a feeling she knew what was going to come next.

"Eiko," he said, "I need to know-"

"Don't call me that! Are you stupid? They're still looking for me everywhere!" Eiko looked around, desperately, making sure no one heard; but Marcus ignored her protest and continued.

"I need to know what they stole from you!" he screamed, grabbing her shoulders and pinning her up against a wall. "You're not telling me something. Now would be the time to fill me in. Just how powerful of an object did he steal from you and why is he in Alexandria?"

Eiko bit her lip. Grabbing her backpack and opening it, she pulled out the piece of paper with the red spot and handed it to Marcus, her head facing down. He didn't seem to understand.

"It's Gilgamesh's triumph symbol indicating he's won. The jewels he took were the two Alexander pieces that split between me and Dagger once the war ceased. I didn't think of it before….but, Lani, she knew that Dagger had the other two from a long time ago. She must have told him. They're headed to Alexandria to retrieve them. Her life is in danger."

Marcus wasn't looking at her. He wasn't really looking at anything. "He's going to use Alexander to create war…and he'll use that opportunity to have power over all the nations."

"It's not quite that simple…he took my flute."

"So, what does that mean?"

Eiko groaned. "Summons don't just obey anyone. Gilgamesh isn't from the summoner tribe. He doesn't know how to control them! They'll kill him!"

"He's going to use you…he's baiting you there." Eiko nodded. "Why would he tell you this? Why wouldn't he just take Garnet?"

Marcus asked so many questions…so many questions that Eiko didn't want to admit the truth to. "I've been away for a long time," Eiko said. "I've grown…much, much stronger than Dagger. My eidolons are stronger than hers, so, naturally, he'll want to extract from the more powerful summoner. And I have a lot more to lose than she does. It'd be so easy."

"Don't lie to me," Marcus barked, causing Eiko to wince. "He could have taken you so easily during the festival of the hunt. Why didn't he?"

Eiko looked down, avoiding his eye contact. "He likes it when I chase him," she admitted, her eyes daring to cry.

That was all she was going to say, but Marcus seemed to understand and only stared at her with slight pity. He wasn't going to press the subject any further, not until Eiko was ready to tell it. It seemed too hard to talk about. Gilgamesh had so much control over Eiko…Marcus had no idea.

"I will protect you, Princess," he said, quietly. He then went towards Eiko and hugged her close to him, Eiko returning the hug as a few tears fell onto his shirt. Eiko didn't want to go back to Gilgamesh. She wanted to stay in Lindblum, with Tantalus. After all the places she's been to, she finally felt like home, there. That's all she ever wanted.

"Hey, ladies," Blank said, coming downstairs with a smirk on his face as he witnessed their little hugging scene. Marcus and Eiko drifted apart fairly quickly to see Blank laugh. "We're here. Let's go get that stupid knick knack back."

* * *

_|| Hope you guys liked it! And thank you to those of you that read this story! I really appreciate it! ||_


	7. Unmasked

**The Outlaw of Madain Sari  
**Adventures of Fenrir

_Hi guys! Another update! So, this story would have been up yesterday but I wrote like three chapters and realizing I was getting waaay out of characterization so I re-did all of the dialogue and most of the description to fit everyone. I don't know why I went so out of character...ugh. Probably just a bad day or something. Anyway, HOPEFULLY, we're all up to speed and Eiko sounds like Eiko, Blank sounds like Blank, etc. By the way, I enjoy criticism of any kind and my main obsession is characterization so, if I get out of character, PLEASE TELL ME!_

_As usual, feel free to flame. I don't care XD It's not everyone's cup of tea. _

_I am motivated to finish this story! So, expect updates! And this one's a longer chapter. Yaaayyy. haha. _

* * *

**VII  
**Unmasked

* * *

When they got onto the airship dock and onto Alexandria, they saw no one. That's never a good sign. They all looked at each other and no one said a word, but they all were thinking the same thing.

Where were all the guards?

Normally, there were around twelve guarding the airship dock. They were gone. And that could only mean one thing. The guards were off defending a…problem.

Running into the throne room, they hear a scream. This causes them to run even faster. "That was Dagger's scream," Eiko exclaims as she runs even faster.

"Are you going to explain to me just how exactly you know the queen?" Blank yelled, huffing and puffing. Eiko and Marcus exchanged glances. "Marcus knows?" Blank stops running and Marcus and Eiko, unhappily, stop, as well. "Tell me what's going on, right now."

"Do you want me to tell you before or after Dagger gets slaughtered?" she yelled at him. Blank glared at her with a look that said 'then tell me quickly'. Eiko groaned. "The jewels he's after are the final jewels of Alexander, which are equipped by Dagger. She'll die along with thousands of others if he gets what he wants!"

Without another word, Marcus and Eiko ran extra fast to make up for lost time and Blank followed closely behind, trying to put all the pieces together but, obviously, failing. Thank God Tantalus men were not left brained or Eiko's identity would have been revealed so quickly.

What Eiko saw when they arrived was something she was not expecting. There were guards on the ground, bleeding, including, she noticed, none other but Steiner. Eiko felt her jaw clenching. Sure, Rusty was a pain in the ass back in the old days, but he was on her team. They'd been through a lot. It only got worse. In the middle of the room was Zidane, guarding the body of Queen Garnet who was lying on the ground, bleeding but breathing.

Gilgamesh was at the top of the stairs with a bow and arrow standing next to Lani, whose axe was stained with fresh blood. Eiko could have gagged at the sight.

"Let go of my son, you son of a bitch!" Zidane yelled at Gilgamesh. Eiko looked up and, sure enough, Gilgamesh had a dagger at the throat of young eight year-old Prince Leon, who was staring at his father in horror.

"Give me the jewels," Gilgamesh demanded.

"What jewels?" Zidane demanded.

"Don't!" Eiko screamed and the trio ran towards the group. Zidane looked back and seemed somewhat surprised, seeing his two buddies and the new kid here.

Zidane frowned. "To hell with you, he's got my son. Blank, control your recruit!" he yelled.

"He'll kill THOUSANDS of people if you give him that, Zidane," Eiko yelled.

"Don't act like you know me!" he boomed. Eiko opened her mouth in agony but no words came out. No, Gilgamesh couldn't have them all…

"Ah…_Fenrir,_" he said with a slight smirk. "So glad you could join us. I see you got my letter." Everyone looked at Eiko and her jaw clenched. "Looking for something?" he asked with a small grin. Gilgamesh made a small kick to the bag that lay on the ground in front of him and Eiko's eyes went to it. It must have her flute in it.

"I didn't come for that," she said, sure of herself.

"Of course you didn't. I was just taking safety precautions in case you didn't value the life of your friends."

"He's _not_ my friend," Zidane snapped.

This caused Gilgamesh to laugh and Eiko was emotionless. Clearly, the irony was too much. "I'm afraid I have no patience for this, Fenrir." Eiko watched as Gilgamesh began to dig the blade further into the neck of the boy and Eiko gritted her teeth in terror.

"You four-armed bastard!" Blank yelled. "He's just a kid! Even I know not to rob a child!"

"Gilgamesh, you idiot! That summon is more powerful than Odin and Bahamut combined! You want them so badly; you might as well steal a coffin while you're at it!" Eiko screamed. Gilgamesh only laughed. Of course he wouldn't take this threat seriously. Who would?

"The jewels or he dies, kid," Gilgamesh assured. Eiko cursed under her breath, trying to come up with something. But how could she get close to him without Gilgamesh slicing Leon's throat?

All of a sudden, Eiko felt a grab at her leg. It was Dagger. Eiko looked down at her with tears in her eyes. Dagger had a large gash in her stomach that was bleeding badly and as she looked up at Eiko, she held her hand out. It had the two jewels. Eiko bit her lip. No…she couldn't. She couldn't give these to Gilgamesh!

"Please," she begged. Eiko expressed a momentary look of pity towards the injured Queen. Eiko didn't really know what it was like to have your child in danger. Her thoughts went briefly to her father, Regent Cid, back in Lindblum. Did he think she was dead? How did he take her disappearance. If Eiko ever had a child who did that…she tried to put herself in their shoes. This needed to stop. Leon was more important right now. She could deal with everything else later; even if Gilgamesh identified her, publicly. With a sigh, Eiko grasped her hand around the jewels.

Marcus grabbed her shoulder. "You can't."

"I must," she hissed. "I have a plan. Somehow…get Leon back while taking one of the jewels. And at the same time, get Gilgamesh the hell out of here. I don't know-" Marcus and Blank shared a mutually strange look and gazed forward at the scene ahead of them. Marcus put a hand on her shoulder.

"Leave it to us, Princess," he whispered, very quietly, in her ear. She had no choice but to trust them.

Zidane looked from Dagger to Eiko in disbelief. "What, you give me two fake ones, then? What the heck, Dagger?" Dagger didn't respond. She was simply staring at the man who had her son captive.

"Fine," she said, loud enough for Gilgamesh to hear her. "I give you these on the promise that you will let Leon go! Your word?" she commanded.

Gilgamesh smirked. "My word." Gilgamesh may be a thief, but he understood deals. He would keep to it, strangely enough. Slowly walking, Eiko made her way towards Gilgamesh who looked slightly pleased with himself. "I knew you'd come," he winked. Eiko scrunched her face together. "First, you give me the jewels, kid."

With a sigh, Eiko slowly held her palm out revealing the final Alexander jewels. There was a large gulp at her throat and when she looked at the others for at least approval, she saw that Blank and Marcus were already gone. Blinking, she tried not to draw attention to herself. To their disappearance.

Gilgamesh grabbed her wrist hard, causing Eiko to whimper a bit, and once he carefully examined them and verified them to be authentic, took them and then lifted her wrist up, turning it around and kissing the top of her hand. Eiko tried to make him let go, but he held it tight.

"Get your lips off my hand, you sick piece of-"

"I will have you back, my sweet," he smirked. With that, he shoved Leon into her grasp and she grabbed him with her other hand. Leon clung to her like an older sister and Eiko backed away slowly. Gilgamesh was staring at the scene with amusement, probably deeming the boy to be a coward. Eiko had to protect him.

The rest happened so fast that Eiko was proud she was able to keep up. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Marcus grabbed Leon and handed her her angel flute. Gilgamesh looked at the scene in outrage and, while he was distracted, Blank snatched at least one of the jewels out of his hand and made his way out. Before he or Lani could go after them, Eiko screamed, backing up.

"Go!" she yelled. Blank and Marcus were tending to Leon and Zidane was carrying Dagger out of the throne room. Eiko quickly played her flute summoning her favourite summon. Fenrir.

Along with the howl from a wolf, the ground started to shake and Eiko began to run. But something happened. A huge pounding pain came into her forehead and Eiko screamed, falling to the floor, clutching her forehead. Her forehead felt like it was on fire as the entire summon was performed. As the huge fist came out of nowhere and punched Gilgamesh and Lani into the air, barely missing Eiko by inches, it felt like needles were digging into her skin. Her fists clenched through the pain.

Everything was quiet. Her eyes were almost squinted shut as she saw members of the group coming over to her. Marcus kneeled down next to her with his hand around her shoulder.

"What happened? Are you okay?" he asked, worried.

Eiko coughed, blood coming out of her mouth. She felt the spot where her horn was with her index finger and winced, reacting similar to what would happen if you touched a recently burned injury.

"I'm fine," she murmured, coughing slightly. "Just a small reaction to the amputation. It's not quite healed yet." She rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand until she was brought back into reality. "The jewel?" A hand was instantly in front of her. A patched up hand appeared with a small crystal in it causing Eiko to smile. "Good to know your many years in Tantalus have not gone to waist, Blank. Ugh," she said, interrupting her thoughts with another jabbing heart throbbing pain in her forehead. "Damnit!" she cursed.

"Damnit!" Leon repeated. Everyone looked at him and started laughing.

"Sorry," Eiko murmured. "Not like he wouldn't have picked it up from Zidane, anyway."

Speaking of Zidane. When she released the hold on her palm and got a proper look at him, Zidane was staring straight into her eyes, making her feel a bit uncomfortable. Before anything else could be said, Zidane had tackled her into a very tight bear hug, stroking her hair softly with his left hand.

"I thought you were dead," he said. Marcus and Dagger were smiling, warmly, at the interaction while Blank and Leon sat there staring blankly. They had no idea what was going on. Zidane released Eiko and he immediately began to finger to where her horn was.

"Surprise," she said with a light-hearted smile.

"What happened?" he asked, desperately.

"I amputated it," she told him like it was nothing. Taking her back pack off of her back (yes, she still has her pack all this time), she reached in towards the bottom and pulled out something: her summoner's horn. She handed it to Zidane. "I thought I'd keep it. For memories sake."

Blank began to grow impatient. "Does everyone here know something I don't know?"

Zidane smirked. Marcus held out a hand for Eiko as she stumbled up and Zidane attended to Garnet, putting her arm around his shoulder.

"You didn't tell him?" Zidane asked with a smile.

"I didn't tell him, either," Eiko said, pointing to Marcus. "I don't even want to know how you found out, actually," she said with a small laugh to Marcus who returned it. Marcus was the one who had bandaged her chest up after she had been poisoned. Yeah, she definitely didn't want to know.

Blank was growing impatient. "Blank," Zidane said. "Meet Princess Eiko."

Blank's jaw slightly dropped. He studied Eiko, squinting at her. "You're the missing princess?"

"In the flesh," she said, not very proud. "Though, Fenrir was kind of growing on me."

* * *

_Thanks goes out to Midnight the Black Fox, Lady of the Semicolons, Terra Cloud, and Janny-chan for reviewing. Thank you so much! I don't think I've credited reviewers before so...that is my credit. Thank you!_

_Special thanks goes to sup3rl0z3r for coming back even when I leave and for giving me advice in and out of this story. If you get a chance, check out her profile and read some of her stuff. She is a great writer! _

_Also, I got inspired to write this story from a story that Lady of the Semicolons wrote. Check out hers as well and special thanks to Lady for inspiring me!_

_Thanks again everyone! Your past, present and future support means a lot. And thank you to all the shy people who read this but don't leave a review. haha. XD_


	8. Someone to Watch Over Me

**The Outlaw of Madain Sari  
**Adventures of Fenrir

_Yay! Another chapter! So, when I wrote this chapter the first time, it was God awful. haha. But I'm satisfied with it. It's a little different but I think it works. Hopefully. _

_I have a new story out, too! Well, it's not a story. It's just a small drabble. It's called 100 Things I Learned from Final Fantasy IX. I'd love it for you to check it out (: Anyway, on with the story. Tell me what you think!_

* * *

**VIII  
**Someone to Watch Over Me

* * *

Dagger was confined to her room by the order of Steiner, who was seeing to her recovery. For a while, Eiko was bedridden right along with her due to her little incident with her lack of summoner horn. But, she had convinced Steiner and Beatrix that she was all right and that it must just be a momentary pain when she summoned. Not much of a problem…yet.

Dagger asked for Eiko often, unable to believe that it was really her. That she wasn't hallucinating. Zidane, now, never went anywhere without Leon by his side, convinced that he was going to almost be kidnapped again and it was made sure that Eiko always had an escort, usually it was either Marcus or Blank.

Just like old times.

She was feeling confined again; and while she saw the necessity of being watched over, she didn't like the idea. She was feeling useless. Sure, her summons were more powerful, but now they were accompanied by a blinding pain in her forehead that felt like a million people screaming into her ears at once. She was not looking forward to being in battle again, that was for sure. Doctor Tot visited, eventually, and inquired that it was simply because Eiko's wound had not healed properly yet, which was why it never hurt Dagger to summon. So, in time, Eiko would be fine. But, Doctor Tot didn't say how long it would take.

It was sort of an unspoken fact that Gilgamesh had done things to Eiko in the past. There was a small connection there and while most of them tried to bring it up, they were shot down fairly quickly. Eiko was a very hard nut to crack. She'd always been that way. Always trying to be tougher than she felt, because that was the easiest void to use. Bottle up those feelings and man up. She had to.

But Dagger didn't buy it. She never had.

"Eiko, it's okay, you can tell me. Please…I want to know," Dagger pleaded.

"There's nothing to tell!" she said, angrily. "He was my master. He's not anymore. Ta-ha! There's your story."

"I don't believe you," she said simply. "Steiner, we wish to be left alone. This is girl talk, okay?" Eiko groaned. Dagger wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Steiner stiffened, clearly disapproving, but let himself out and closed the door. Eiko sat on the bed next to Dagger who, over the past couple weeks, has healed quite nicely.

The constant 'trying to figure out her past' game was getting a little old. They never let it go, especially Dagger. Zidane had tried to get it out of her, too, as well as Marcus. None of them could get her to budge. Blank never brought it up. It's one of the reasons she preferred to have him as her escort, since she was now required one. He was just himself around her and she didn't have to be fake. She knew that Zidane and Dagger were only caring about her, but it wasn't like Eiko to get emotional. She couldn't talk about it. For the longest time, she's needed to, though. She's never told anyone, mostly because she never had contact with anyone else in this world ever since she began working for him. How do you talk about something like that, though?

"Eiko," she said, drawing her closer. "Talking about it will help. Tell me what happened. From the very beginning. What happened after you left Lindblum?"

Eiko took a long pause and a breath in. She knew she should at least try to tell them a bit about her past. It could help with the current situation they were in. They deserved to be aware of the basics, at least. And Dagger was her only female friend that she had. They were practically sisters. Who better to talk to?

"I wanted to come back as soon as I left," she admitted. Dagger nodded, as if silently asking her to continue. "My ship crash landed because it's no surprise I didn't know how to fly the damn thing. I'm surprised I even got that far myself. I was injured from the crash and burning badly. Bleeding and in so much pain. Gilgamesh saw the wreckage and rescued me from it. He saved me from a monster that nearly killed me afterwards."

"Where did you crash land at?" Dagger asked.

Eiko actually let out a laugh. "The Iifa tree. That was not fun."

She continued, "Anyway, we got to talking. And so, I told him everything. He took me in. Taught me how to gamble, fight, and he even helped me with my summons. He always encouraged me telling me I was the strongest person he had ever met. I know Bahamut and Odin now, because of him. I know a lot that you don't, too." Dagger raised her eyebrows, seeming slightly impressed.

"I loved him," Eiko admitted. "He loved me. He was intelligent. Stealthy. Comical. Resourceful. Everything I had ever wanted. He protected me. The man you saw. That wasn't Gilgamesh. I don't know who he was. He was very different before. Before _she_ came."

"Lani?" Dagger asked.

Eiko gave a small nod. "I was jealous. I began spying on them. At this point, we were basically together. He was my first kiss, after all. Lani recognized me as the brat from a long time ago and filled Gilgamesh in on a little secret."

"She told him of Alexander."

Eiko nodded. Her face fell. "Then…everything changed."

"What did he do to you, Eiko?"

Eiko shrugged like it was no big deal. Except, it was. "When he first brought it up, I told him the truth. I had no reason not to. Told him that the summoner tribe sealed it a long time ago because it was so powerful and not even I would be able to contain it. When he pressured me to tell him the locations of the other stones, I refused. At first, it was for his and my safety. Alexander could kill us. But, later, his greed grew. Lani got into his head. He took my jewels from me and tortured me, trying to get the remaining jewels' location out of me. Asshole," she muttered, fidgeting with her hands.

"You didn't tell him?" she asked, slightly worried.

"How could I? He was such an idiot!" she yelled. "I couldn't let that jerk have Alexander!"

Dagger stared at Eiko for a long, long time. Her feelings about this man were so complicated. Hating him as she did now must have been so difficult for her. If Zidane had turned into what Gilgamesh had, Dagger wasn't sure what she would be feeling. She would be confused. "How did he torture you, Eiko?"

Eiko chuckled. "You know I've never been much for pain. It doesn't bother me. He tried, it didn't work. And after I fell out of love with him, well…let's just say he took that to his advantage."

"You mean…." Dagger said, almost crying. "You mean, he-"

"Don't even say it, Dagger," Eiko snapped. "Besides, it's done. I'm just glad it was me and not you. Anyway, forget I even said anything. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone else. Just our little secret, okay?"

It was slightly clear that this was making Eiko uncomfortable. The last thing she wanted was any of her Tantalus brothers to know what happened. She was slightly ashamed of it, she supposed. Even though she tried to make it seem like it was no big deal, she was afraid she would break out into tears if anything else was said. It wasn't like her to show weakness. She couldn't have it.

"That sick bastard," she heard. The two of them broke apart and, terrified, looked at whoever had overheard them.

"Zidane-" Eiko choked. "You weren't supposed to-"

"I'm gonna murder that disgusting son of a bitch," he said, leaning against the wall, glaring at the floor. Eiko and Garnet said nothing. Before another word could be spoken, Zidane walked outside and slammed the door shut.

* * *

It did not take much for Eiko to become restless and claustrophobic. Every time she tried to say that she could take care of herself ten times over, they informed her of the lovely little fact that whenever she summoned, a huge, blinding and uncontrollable pain took place inside the center of her forehead and the discussion was done. Physical attacks weren't her strength, so; she was pretty much as powerful as she was when Zidane first found her. Which is not very. Add a blinding pain to her forehead and she's actually gotten worse.

Regardless, she didn't need some rusty knight breathing down her shoulder 24/7 saying she always needed an escort. She wasn't going to run away again; she just needed to be by herself sometimes. To think.

Staying inside this castle was driving her crazy. Waiting for Gilgamesh to come back seemed idiotic and while the others assured her that he would assume she would be running and would be checking other places, Eiko wasn't convinced. They needed to leave. Protect the jewel before he got the final piece. Eiko wouldn't be so stupid as to go off by herself again, but she felt trapped.

Needing to find some fresh air, Eiko woke up at four o'clock in the morning, dodging Rusty, and made her way to the lake where she sat and watched the water. Setting her back up against the wall behind the stairs, she sat and looked beyond, every so often throwing a small rock into the lake and amusing herself with the various ripples it created.

Her peace was quickly interrupted.

"I'm gonna kill that stupid tin man," she heard. With a smirk on her face, Eiko turned around and peered around her hiding spot to see who it was. Marcus and Blank.

"He's just worried about her," Marcus said, trying to calm Blank down.

"Bullshit," Blank retorted. "She's been by herself for three years before now and I don't think she's that stupid to go off by herself. To have to come and wake me up just because everyone wasn't 'accounted' for? He's just racist," Blank muttered. He looked towards the lake and Eiko ducked a bit, hoping he didn't see her.

"Racist?" Marcus laughed.

"Against Tantalus."

"I wouldn't say that. He likes Zidane. Eiko."

Blank looked at Marcus with his arms crossed, unconvinced. "Because they're royalty."

Marcus shook his head a few times, clasped his hand on Blank's back and started walking past him. "I'm gonna check the tower."

"I'm not."

As Marcus left, Blank made his way towards Eiko's hiding spot. Not really caring, Eiko turned back around and threw a few more rocks into the lake. Blank seemed to notice. She didn't even raise her head.

"Rusty lose his shorts again?" she laughed, making her presence known if he didn't already see her. Blank shook his head a few fake-angry times as he walked towards her and sat down. "You gonna tattle on me?" she asked in a slightly angry tone.

Blank didn't say anything. He stared off onto the lake as if staring into space causing Eiko to glance at him in the corner of her eye. He usually wasn't like this. So…serious. His face turned from a smirk into a sad frown. Oh, god.

"Zidane told me," he said quietly.

Eiko groaned, banging her head against the wall. "Little rat," she muttered, chucking another rock into the lake, this time with more force.

"To be fair, I think he's more feline than rodent."

Eiko appreciated Blank trying to lighten the mood, but it still didn't change the fact that Zidane was a rotten, dirty little tattletale. She didn't want anyone to know for a reason. For many reasons.

"How would you know?" she replied, a little more coldly than she would have had they been talking on any other circumstance.

"He purred one time."

It allowed a small smile for Eiko. Zidane purring was definitely a comical idea. Again, had this been under a different circumstance, she would demand Blank tell her the full story. What happened to make Zidane purr would have been great black mail. But they weren't under different circumstances.

All she really wanted was to be one of the guys. She didn't want to look or feel weak. She didn't want people to look at her in pity. It was something she could not stand. Eiko wasn't even planning to tell Dagger, but Dagger could be so damn convincing sometimes. She wasn't sure why she was so ashamed…it was just hard to explain.

"It-" Blank started, clearly unsure of what to say. "It doesn't make you weak." Was he reading her mind?

"There's nothing more to say," she snapped, not looking at him. She tossed her arm back and was about to throw it forward to chuck yet another rock into the lake when Blank caught her arm forcefully.

"It's unhealthy to not talk about it," he told her. Eiko forced her arm out of Blank's grasp, glaring at him.

"I already talked about it with Dagger."

"No, you didn't," he laughed. "Zidane said if he wasn't listening properly, he would have barely caught it 'cause you made it out like it was no big deal."

"It's NOT a big deal."

Blank rolled his eyes and turned his attention towards the ground in front of him. He was never good at talking to girls about their problems; especially when they wouldn't admit that they had one. He just didn't understand, though. How could he expect Eiko to talk about? She wouldn't. She never would.

"He's worried about you, Eiko." Eiko did not reply. "Took all our energy to pin him down to make sure he didn't go after him solo, the idiot. You're like a sister to him."

"…" She pursed her lips together. "I didn't want him to know."

"Why not?"

"He's my brother. Would you?"

Blank thought about it as Eiko looked at him. If anything so horrid such as that ever happened to him, who would he confide in? Marcus? Zidane? Surely not. No one. Just like Eiko. He wouldn't want to talk about it.

Eiko turned the rock in her hand over and over again, thinking about it. Truthfully, she didn't try to dwell on it too much. It wasn't that big of a deal. She got what she deserved; it was as simple as that. It was her fault. No one forced her to run away. She was weak and naïve and took full responsibility for everything Gilgamesh had done. Even though she accepted it, she couldn't talk about it. It wasn't that easy. What would she say?

"How's your forehead?" he asked, causing Eiko to slightly smile. He was changing the subject. Thank god.

Eiko shrugged. "It stings a little. I mean, they're not gonna write a play on it." She laughed, but then her voice lowered into a more serious tone. "Fenrir was my first summon. It takes the least effort out of me…and I felt like someone was ripping my horn out of my skull…all over again. If _that_ one hurt-"

She couldn't say anymore. It wasn't difficult for Blank to catch on. Alexander was the most powerful and difficult summon known to man. It took a lot of concentration just to conjure it, much less control it. If summoning Fenrir took the least amount of concentration from Eiko, how much would it kill her to summon Alexander?

"We're not going to let him take you," he promised. Eiko only nodded. It wasn't that easy, but she didn't say anything. They didn't know Gilgamesh like she did. Devious and manipulative, he would find leverage over her. Her heart had always been strong. That's what he would use over her. Her heart was against her in so many ways. Eiko's problem was that she'd always cared too much and Gilgamesh knew that all too well.

* * *

_The Blank/Eiko relationship will further very slowly. I never rush into relationships. But, it will be moving forward in these next few chapters. I wanted to make it realistic since it is a very different pairing. But, they're more alike than you'd think XD _


	9. Silence

**The Outlaw of Madain Sari  
**Adventures of Fenrir

_Hello! So, this is where the Blank/Eiko thing will sort of start. I figured that this was a good way to introduce it as this very thing happened to me one time as far as how I started to like a guy. Anyway. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! As usual, flames and criticism welcome; as well as happy comments (:_

_Also! I wrote ANOTHER story (I know, I need to stop). But the reason it took me almost a week to update is that I started to write "Frankensten's Monster". It's a story of where Blank came from and how he got his patches. I have another one on him like that but I think this one is more creative; and more creative than any other Blank origin story that I've read (and I've read nearly every Blank story on this site...because I love him and it's a sickness). haha. Anyway, check it out if you're interested!_

_On with the story. Hope you like it!_

* * *

**IX  
**Silence

* * *

Where was she?

Eiko lay on the ground, her hands tied behind her back and her face was in the dirt. As she raised her head slightly, she could feel streams of sweat running down her face from the heat. Along with the sweat, there was a sharp pain in her forehead when she realized that not only sweat was crawling on her forehead, but blood, as well. She winced a bit from the pain as she felt it throbbing over and over and over again. She was breathing through the pain when she heard a loud shout.

"Let her go, bastard!" Looking up through squinted and clearly bruised eyes, she saw Zidane, tied up and held down by Lani. As he made eye contact with her, Zidane lost it. "Eiko. Don't listen to him! Don't let him get into your head! You-"

"I'm losing my patience, Princess," Gilgamesh said. Time was running out. She must have not bonded with Alexander yet. Until she summoned him and bonded with the spirit, he couldn't extract the power from her. He couldn't transfer his allegiance over to himself. Not until he was properly summoned.

As Zidane continued to continue on his tirade, Lani held up her axe and thrust it down. "Zidane!" Eiko mouthed, finding in it that she could barely talk as the axe landed on Zidane's neck. His head, severed from his body, rolled a little bit and tears streamed down Eiko's face as she bit her lip so hard that it was bleeding. No, this can't be happening…Zidane wasn't dead. He couldn't be dead!

"Zidane!" she found her voice and began to scream. "Please come back," she begged.

Something started to happen. His face began to change and haze away. Now, Garnet and Leon lay next to each other, tied up as well. Eiko's eyes widened. Leon was blindfold and gagged, whimpering and fidgeting, while Garnet looked bruised beyond repair. She, too, was bleeding at her forehead.

"We have faith in you, Eiko," Garnet said, trying to remain as calm as she could as her son wept beside her. "Be strong," were her last words. They died.

Again, Eiko screamed. "Please stop!" she screamed.

"Summon him," Gilgamesh demanded.

"Over your dead body!"

One by one, her friends were killed before her very eyes. An arrow was sent straight through Freya's forehead. Marcus was dropped into the ocean, tied to a heavy weight. Vivi was burned to death. Steiner had his armour taken off as they pierced him with a sword and poisoned him. He died a slow death as Eiko was forced to watch. Before each one of them died, they pled with her to stay strong. To not summon him. It killed her.

"Never," she would mumble after every time. "Never. Never…" That was all she said. All she could say.

After each of their deaths, Eiko couldn't help feeling she was going to hell. The Gods were going to smite her for all the deaths she's allowed. Granted, if she let him take Alexander, there would be even MORE deaths. Which was the better of the two evils, Eiko didn't know. But, it was torture.

Clearly realizing that they weren't getting anywhere, Gilgamesh turned to Lani. "Bring _him_ in," he ordered. Lani gave a small smile to Gilgamesh and nodded, retiring into the house that Eiko once called home.

Who was _him_? Eiko was terrified. Whoever he was, clearly Gilgamesh knew that this would, indeed, break her.

There was a sudden crash inside the house. In fact, there were many crashes. She heard the crack of a whip and a laugh, by Lani. Then, there were footsteps.

Lani led the way; and she was dragging a figure out of the house with a rope tied around his neck. Blank.

Eiko let out a giant whimper and Gilgamesh's Cheshire grin spread from ear to ear. Clearly, he'd found the lottery ticket. By now, she knew they were serious about killing all her friends. Would she be able to watch _him_ die?

_Not him,_ she thought, pleading, but she knew it would be no good.

Blank had a blindfold over his belted eyes and another thin cloth was tied around his mouth, gagging him. Though, he could be hurt screaming angrily underneath it. His hands were tied in front of him at the wrists. His stitches had been taken out and he had been left to bleed. Splotches of dry and fresh blood covered his entire body. There were also many fresh wounds and scars all around his body that Eiko knew were not there before.

Gilgamesh took the 'leash' from Lani, who handed it over with a huge smile on her face, and threw Blank at the ground causing him to grunt slightly. If Eiko had her hands free, she would be embracing him, trying to comfort him. Not Blank…not him.

Walking towards him, Gilgamesh tightened his grip on the leash and took the gag out of Blank's mouth. "Where is she?" he demanded, immediately. Eiko's heart dropped. "I don't want her to be around when I cut your fucking penis out, you disgusting little verminous piece of-!"

"Careful, patchwork," Gilgamesh said as calmly as if he were slightly scolding his son. "There are ladies present." He emphasized the word lad_ies. _

Blank caught on rather quickly. "Eiko?"

"Blank," she whimpered.

Hearing her voice so close, he started to feel around and felt her chest (something that almost made her a bit uncomfortable) and his hands went up and felt her face, then embracing her tightly as if they were lovers who hadn't seen each other for years after a war. "You're doing great," he said, burying his face in her hair.

"I can't take any more," she moaned. Tears were streaming down her face. "I'm done, Blank. I can't-"

"No, Eiko!" he begged. "He'll kill us all anyway. I'm not worth it. Eiko-you can't!" This only caused Eiko to cry more.

That was all the talk that they got as Gilgamesh carried Blank away and gagged him once more while Eiko screamed his name, desperately. Forcing Blank to kneel, Gilgamesh removed the blindfold that he had around Blank's belt. Then, Gilgamesh smiled.

"Let's see what's under your mask, _lover boy_." Blank gritted his teeth together, preparing for the worst.

"Leave him alone!" Eiko screamed.

But, they didn't listen. Gilgamesh raised his hands to the belt that was around Blank's head and cast it aside. It was easy to tell that as Blank stared at her through his true eyes, he wanted to scream. And he would have, had he not been gagged.

His right eye was missing, and that was something Eiko noticed right away. Blank had no right eye. The eyelid that would have encased that eye was drooping over it, sadly. His left eye was intact, though there were burn marks just above it. The red wrinkled and patched skin that he had everywhere else. Except, his eye was white. It was blank…no wonder where he got his name from.

Eiko had never seen him with his belt off. Honestly, she'd never asked to see it. Clearly, he had something to hide, just like Eiko cut off her horn to hide her identity.

Blank's face looked agonizing. He stared at Eiko with such torture. He didn't want her to see him like this. At least not in the presence of Gilgamesh. One day, Eiko would have brought up the topic of seeing him without his belt, and he would voluntarily have taken it off. It shouldn't have been this way…

"Disgusting," Lani spat. She kicked Blank in the stomach causing him to hunch over slightly.

Walking behind Blank, Gilgamesh took the gag out of his mouth, again, this time throwing it onto the floor. Blank looked at the gag in terror. He knew what was next. Gilgamesh drew his bow and arrow behind Blank's head. "Any last words, patchwork?" he asked.

Breathing in and out very harshly, he looked at Eiko, silently begging her to not give in. "I love you," he said with such sadness and humiliation.

With a frantic look, Eiko gazed from Lani to Gilgamesh…and then to Blank. He was begging her…but she couldn't do it. "No!" she screamed. A smile grew on Gilgamesh's face. He knew this would happen. "I'll do it."

"Eiko-" Blank warned.

"Just don't kill him!" she screamed. Tears fell down her face. She felt so weak…she had given in. "I'm not strong enough, Blank…I can only take so much!"

Without another word, Gilgamesh threw Blank to the ground and walked over towards Eiko. He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up, causing Eiko to wince slightly.

"Wise decision," he told her.

The next thing she knew, they were on a beach. Lani had Blank tied up, as usually, gagged but his eyes were showing. It was clear to see that he was ultimately humiliated. Never had Eiko seen Blank that tormented. Tortured. He hated being unmasked.

In Eiko's hands were four parts of a stone that were now shining and forming together. Eiko's hands were tied together, this time in front of her, and Gilgamesh had his bow and arrow out. It was mostly aimed towards Blank, in case she decided to do anything stupid.

Without any other options, her fists clenched around the jewels and she began to focus all her power on its energy. Blank was moaning through his gag. She knew he was begging her not to do this…she couldn't help it.

Suddenly, a huge stream of pain went up her entire body and landed on the spot where her horn used to live. As if she had been struck by lightning, Eiko fell to the ground, still clutching her fists around the rock as jolts of electricity sprang through her.

Her entire body began to tingle and shake and her forehead felt like it was on fire. Burning until she couldn't take it anymore. Was this what dying felt like…? For a brief moment, she thought about what heaven would be like. Was there even a heaven? Were the Gods there? Would they take care of her?

Eiko fell down face forward on the beach, not even bothering to steady her hands out for her fall. The last thing she saw before her eyes closed was a large white monster.

Finally, she could sleep. She didn't even hear _his_ screams or feel his touch as he came over to her. Time to sleep.

"Wake up!"

* * *

A blood-curdling scream could be heard throughout the closer rooms of the castle as the purple-haired princess turned back and forth in her sleep, screaming in pain and clenching her fists. Streams of sweat were flowing down her face.

Eiko woke up screaming, her voice almost hoarse from it. Her hands were on her forehead, clenching it tightly like a safety float, and her face was sweating like crazy. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she gritted her hands around the edge of the bed. Wait…the bed? She sat up, breathing heavily in and out, realizing she was in the room assigned to her in the Alexandria castle. Sitting on the edge of a bed next to her, staring at her, were Marcus and Blank.

It was just a dream? It felt so real…

Looking at Blank, she blinked a few times, avoiding his eye contact a bit. Eiko hadn't thought about Blank before. Not the way she clearly had in the dream. The way they acted…they were like lovers. Eiko didn't understand where that came from. Of all the people that could get her to crack, why him? Sure, he was easy to get along with and they could talk no problem. But love?

Her eyes went up to the belt on his forehead and then she quickly lowered them to the ground. Was that really what his face looked like underneath his belt? Would he show her if she asked? Had he ever shown anyone in his life? Surely Marcus had seen it at least once. It made Eiko wonder. A lot.

Marcus was the first to move. Walking towards her, he sat down on the bed next to her, handing her a washcloth. Slightly embarrassed, Eiko took it, using it to wipe the tears away from her eyes and the beads of sweat on her face. Her right hand went up to where her horn used to be. It didn't hurt right now. The pain was all imagined.

She had never been in more pain in her entire life. Cutting it off had hurt less than that. Or maybe Eiko forgot the pain she had experienced that day. The day after she cut it off, she remembered having some sort of hangover from the aftermath. But the pain she felt in her dream? There was simply no comparison.

The two of them seemed to notice that she had been focusing her attention on her horn and she lowered her hand immediately.

"Do you…wanna talk about it?" Blank asked. His hands were clenched together in between his knees as he stared at her.

"Depends," she said. "How much do you know?" Neither of them said a word but they glanced at each other. "I know I talk in my sleep."

Just how much did she say? She was beginning to worry. They were just dreams. It wasn't like she loved Blank or anything. Not to her recollection, at least. But, it would be awkward if he knew she had just dreamed about him like that.

"Who did he kill?" Marcus asked, finally. Clearly, people were dying in this dream. More than likely, they heard Eiko screaming 'Don't kill her! Leave him alone!' several times. Eiko was pathetic that way.

"Everyone," she said. She gave a small glance to Blank and then looked back down to the ground. He seemed to do the same thing. A tear went down her face as the dream re-played itself in her head over and over again. Zidane's head rolling over next to his body, the blood flowing out of his neck. Dagger and Leon dying, side by side, holding each other till the end of their days. The look on Marcus's face as they tied him to a weight and threw him off the cliff. Vivi's yellow, sad eyes as he burned to his death, squealing. Freya's blank gaze when the arrow punctured her face; emotionless, as she always was. Steiner's humiliated defeat when he was stabbed with his one blade in his undergarments. Being forced to watch as the poison penetrated his body and as the blood left a pool around him; dying his slow and traumatizing death.

And then Blank…who never died…but was humiliated. His face. His eyes. That _blank_ eye.

At this point, Eiko had her mouth covered with her hands and started to sob, hiccupping through her sorrow. She was losing so much face. It was torture for her. If there was one thing Eiko had prided herself in, it was her ability to make pain look like it was nothing. Acting tough. Saving face. It was how she survived as a child. But now…she just couldn't take it. Everyone she had ever cared about? Gone. As quick as a gunshot.

The door to their room opened and everyone else was there. Zidane, Dagger, Steiner, and little Leon. They were all staring at her. Clearly, they had heard the screams. If not, someone had clearly told them. As the silent minutes went forward, Eiko felt herself slowly sinking into a pit of depression and agony. Seeing them all alive…it was a relief. But she did not forget the pain she felt in the dream as they died. And she would never tell them what all happened in that dream.

Dagger walked towards her first and kneeled in front of her. Leon was clutching the side of Zidane as Steiner stayed in his place and stood guard over the door. He _would _do that.

"It was just a dream-"

"Leave me alone!" Eiko forced through sobs. Pushing Dagger slightly onto the ground and brushing past Marcus and Blank, she pushed herself in between Zidane and Leon, splitting them apart. Steiner looked down on her with that stern and disapproval look.

"You got a problem?" she said, trying desperately to sound tough. They stared each other down, as if daring each other. "Get out of my way, rusty."

He reluctantly obeyed. She was a princess, after all. After years of being together, that much was obvious. Steiner was very much obedient to royalty, even if he didn't agree with what they were doing.

Humiliated and embarrassed, Eiko made her way, all by herself, to the tower in the Alexandria castle. She simply lay on top of the edge, thinking what would happen if she accidentally decided to roll off. She wasn't suicidal, but sometimes, she wondered. _Would anyone really miss me if I died?_

Zidane told her stories about this tower all the time when she was younger. It was where Zidane and Dagger first met. He said that he fell in love with her when he first saw her. She was backing up on the ledge of the tower and suddenly fell off, swinging on a festivity rope against the other tower like Jane from Tarzan. A smile came across Eiko's face as she imagined the scene. She could totally see Zidane chasing after her like that. The thought soothed Eiko a bit. Such a happy memory had to outshine her bad dream, right? It worked at least a little bit.

Suddenly, she heard a noise. Just one set of footsteps coming up the tower. Great. It was probably Rusty going to tell her that it was dangerous to lie on the ledge like that. Eiko could just vomit.

Looking over, though, she saw Blank. For some reason, her heart started to beat faster.

What was this? Before now, Eiko had never thought of Blank like that. Sure, he was the first one she met back in Lindblum. He was that stupid idiot who couldn't figure out who she was. He was the only person who didn't force the past out of her. He never asked many questions. But, even still, she wouldn't have ever thought…

Blank didn't say anything. They looked at each other for a momentary beat and then Eiko turned her head, looking at the sky, instead. She heard him walk towards her as he hoisted himself up onto the ledge near her head, swinging his feet over the side. Looking up at him, she saw he wasn't even looking at her. His head was raised a little bit as he took in the wind brushing up against his hair (which Eiko noted was lusciously floating about in the breeze) and then he leaned back, putting his hands on the other side of the ledge.

Not a word was spoken as the two enjoyed the morning breeze. Dawn in Alexandria was always gorgeous. The sun rose just in the right place and the lake glistened from the light. It was peaceful and it calmed Eiko, which was something rare considering what Eiko had just gone through. The sun, wind and beauty made her feel normal. Human. No matter how dark it gets; no matter how scary her dreams are, it will always be morning again. Always. Unless, of course, you live in Treno.

As usual, Blank was there giving her exactly what she needed.

Silence.

* * *

_To continue on my thought, I ended up falling for a guy because I had a dream about him one time. haha. It was pathetic, but it happens, right? Let the Blank crush begin (whoever said Blank was going to like her back. haha). _

_Special shout out to sup3rl0z3r _


	10. Discussing Lindblum

**The Outlaw of Madain Sari**

_Yay! Another update! This story is actually coming along quite nicely. At least, I hope so. haha. Hope you like this chapter! I like Eiko in this chapter, personally._

* * *

**X**  
Discussing Lindblum

* * *

Eiko told no one about the dream. All they knew was that people died. Everyone died. She would have liked to say that people treated her the same. That things went back to normal. They only got worse. Clearly, they were curious and concerned about what went on in that dream to cause Eiko to react the way she did.

For, after she made her way to the tower, she hadn't spoken another word. She remained silent for a couple days, mostly thinking things over. Decisions had to be made. She knew it; maybe they knew it. Eiko couldn't stay here. Not with her friends.

A couple nights after the dream, everyone was sitting at the dinner table in the Alexandria castle, eating their food silently. Every so often, Eiko got the glances of the others staring at her, but whenever she would look up at them, they would turn their attention back to their food. It got a little more than aggravating.

"I wish to return to Lindblum," she said, cutting the silence. Her attention was currently on her food as she played with her mashed potatoes with her fork, picking at it. She could feel everyone else staring at her and heard them all put their silverware down, ready for what was coming next. This was the first time she had spoken since that morning and her first words were rather surprising.

For anyone who knew Eiko knew that the last place she wanted to go was Lindblum castle. And that was exactly why.

"What?" Zidane was the first to speak. He was almost snapping at her, yelling.

"You heard me," Eiko said through almost gritted teeth. She knew Zidane would not be keen on hearing this. As the King of Alexandria, he couldn't really leave all that often, and he probably liked Eiko inside Alexandria where he could keep an eye on her.

"You're safe here, Eiko. The jewel is safe," Dagger assured her, trying to ease her worries.

"It's been over two weeks," Eiko told them. "By now, Gilgamesh will have figured out I'm still here. He's not stupid! He knows the last place I would be is back at the castle. There's not a place on Gaia I would be safer at."

"I broke into Lindblum castle without any trouble. For a thief like Gilgamesh-" started Zidane.

"But he wouldn't know I'd be there!"

"The Regent wouldn't keep your return secret!"

"If Cid is aware of the circumstances-"

"Enough," Dagger cut in. Zidane and Eiko were silenced but they were staring daggers at each other from across the table while everyone else sat there silently. It was clear throughout the room that Zidane had no idea what Eiko's angle was.

"Do you not feel safe here?" Dagger asked. "Zidane is just worried about you. We can protect you _here. _You are among friends, Eiko."

"That's just the problem!" Eiko screamed.

They didn't understand. According to her dream, she would break at the death of her friends. The danger. Aside from the dream, she had been thinking about it a lot recently. What if Zidane's life were in danger? What if Dagger and Leon were about to be killed in front of her? She wasn't so sure she would be able to stay confident through all that. She would break. In the end, she would be summoning Alexander. Without her friend's lives in danger, she wouldn't break. She could hold for a while until he finally lost patience and killed her. Then, there would be no one left to summon Alexander and even if Gilgamesh tried, Alexander would kill him. Just as it should be.

"I think she's right," Blank finally said. Zidane looked at Blank with the most hateful look. "Look, she ran away from Lindblum because she didn't want to be a princess. What are the chances of her returning? This is the only way for her and Alexander to be safe."

"And what if he figures it out and breaks into your room, huh? I won't be there. Neither will Steiner or Dagger or ANY of us? How are you going to protect yourself when you can't even perform a summon properly?"

That crossed a line and Eiko's hand clenched into a fist. To call her physically weak wasn't too far from the truth; but to insult her summoning capabilities? She could kill everyone in this room right now if she wanted to. Except maybe Dagger. Before she could fiercely retaliate, Blank responded, clearly trying to get rid of the anger that was about to come out of Eiko. "I could stay with her."

"No," Eiko said, automatically. "I want no one close to me in that castle other than the Regent and Hilda. And I mean _no one_."

"There's no way we're gonna let that happen-" Zidane started, again.

"I've escaped Gilgamesh many times before, I can do it again! I'm a lot younger than he is or any of you, for that matter. I'm much stealthier. " She looked from Blank to Zidane. Neither of them seemed to understand _why_ she wanted to be left alone so badly. Was it so difficult to understand? "Besides, when I go to Lindblum, I want the jewel to be separate from me. If I don't have it, the number one person he would suspect to have it would be Dagger or Zidane. Which is why we're going to give it to Tantalus."

Zidane didn't have anything to say to that. Clearly, he wasn't happy about where this was going, but the more Eiko talked about it, the more it made sense.

"Tantalus is the most professional group of thieves in all of Gaia. If anyone can play keep away with Gilgamesh better than I can, it's them. I'm giving it to Blank first and once you get to Lindblum safely, I want it given to someone Gilgamesh has not actively seen with me. One of the triplets or Cinna. Not Ruby. But keep passing it around. Never with someone for more than a day and mix the order around a lot. Don't use a pattern. Travel in teams of two and always _always_ have a weapon on you-"

"So, that's it, you call the shots, then?" Zidane snapped.

"Do you have a better plan?"

Zidane scoffed. "Uhm, how 'bout you stay here and _I_ hold on to the jewel."

"I stay here longer than a week and Gilgamesh takes me AND the jewel and kills every single one of you in front of me." Except Blank. "I break; I summon Alexander and the whole world goes up in smoke!"

Everyone was silent and their eye contact with Eiko immediately shattered. This was the first time she actually talked about what her dream was about and although she didn't tell them it was her dream, it wasn't hard to figure out.

After her little rant, Eiko stood up and threw her silverware onto the table, kicked her chair onto the ground and stormed out of the dining hall. She could hear them quietly start to talk and Eiko rolled her eyes, slamming the door shut, making her exit known.

She wasn't that unpredictable as she made her way back to the lake, again. Hiding in the exact same hiding spot before, this time she didn't even bother to touch the rocks and throw them. She was simply too aggravated and worried to do anything otherwise. All she did was sit on the edge of the platform with her feet thrown over the side as she dangled the toes of her shoes into the water, still glancing acutely at the ripples in the water.

They didn't understand. How could they? Maybe she _was_ weak. She couldn't watch her friends die. It was too painful. If any one of them were in her shoes, they probably wouldn't even bother. It'd be their duty to die for what is right. After all, wasn't that what they had been doing all along when they were saving the world? Willing to die for the sake of the world?

But to watch your friends die at your fault? Eiko wasn't strong enough to do that. Or maybe she'd gotten soft. She never had any friends before Zidane's group came along. Without them, her life would be miserable. They shaped her into the lovely sarcastic brat she is now, and she loved it. Being alone sucked…she didn't want to be alone again.

"I thought you'd be here."

Eiko jumped slightly and turned her head, seeing Blank. Expressionless, Eiko turned her head back to the lake as he sat next to her, once again.

"You know this is where we met?" Blank asked. Eiko looked at him. "You were sitting over there," he said, leaning his head towards one side of the platform. "And me and Marcus were over there," he told her with a smile, looking at the opposite side. "We were waiting for Rusty and that eye-patch chick to get it on. Marcus's nose starting bleeding and then the boss came in sneezing. And you yelled at him saying he ruined the moment."

Blank laughed and Eiko even managed to smile. She had forgotten all about that. Well, she had never forgotten the moment where Steiner and Beatrix almost kissed for the first time, but she forgot that it was Blank and Marcus over there. It had been over ten years and she was so young, then. He probably remembers it vividly.

"You've grown up since then."

Eiko rolled her eyes. "Perv."

The sides of Blank's lips widened into a devious smile as he stared forward. "I don't mean like that. You've matured. That was a good plan you had back there. A Tantalus-worthy plan." There was silence. "You're brave, Eiko, to go back there. I know you don't want to."

No, she didn't want to. Everyone knew that. Which is probably why they were so confused. What could a dream possibly do to scare her into going back to the life that she hated?

"You don't have to dance around the question, Blank. Go ahead. Ask me."

Blank nodded, clenching his hands together into one big fist. "Fair enough. What made you decide to go back? Why don't you want anyone around to protect you?"

"Simple…they'll all die."

"You don't know that."

"I do know that-" she protested.

"We're a lot stronger than you take us for, Eiko."

"Who do you think taught me to be so strong? How do you think I've strengthened my summons and my physical ability? Gilgamesh is strong, too."

Blank didn't say anything. He was in utter disagreement but he wouldn't deny the fact that Gilgamesh probably had his own strengths. And he did have a famous bounty hunter at his beck and call. He didn't say anything more but he stared at Eiko in an accusing manner. It was a stare forcing her to talk more. He knew there was something she was not telling him.

"In my dream…Gilgamesh captured everyone who came and tried to rescue me. Zidane, Dagger, Leon, Vivi, Freya, Steiner, Marcus…you," she finally said. Blank looked away when she said he was there, too. "He tortured them. He killed them. Zidane was decapitated. Marcus drowned. Vivi was burned. And…."

"What happened to me?" he asked, slightly curious.

Eiko pursed her lips together. How was she going to tell him that he was the one who broke her? That he didn't die like everyone else did? Her eyes drifted up towards the belt on his head and closed her eyes a bit.

"Never mind," he quickly said, sensing her hesitancy. "Look, Princess, it's not gonna happen. It was just a dream."

"In the end, I broke…and I summoned Alexander. Then, I woke up." Blank was silent for a while, looking out onto the lake. Eiko couldn't bear the silence. "Can you promise me something?"

"Anything."

"If he does find me-"

"He's not going to fi-"

"Would you just listen?" she yelled. He glared at her but let her continue. "If he finds me, and takes me…don't come after me."

"What?"

"Don't let anyone come. I can handle myself."

"You know Zidane won't ever stop looking for you."

"I don't care! You just have to…stop him. I'm a grown lady, now. I'll be fine. I just…I don't want to be alone again."

Blank sighed, looking at her through that belted gaze. "You'll be alone if he takes you."

"You'll still be alive," she said. Her 'you' was meant as everyone…but, the more she thought about it. Maybe it wasn't. "Promise!" she ordered.

It was clear Blank did not want to do this. To assure her that he wouldn't come after her if Gilgamesh captured and tortured her. How could he promise that? He saw her reasoning, though, and as much as he hated to admit it, every single one of Eiko's friends would get in the way if she was captured. Or even around. Eiko slightly caved when Leon was in danger. But if it was Zidane who practically nurtured her…it wouldn't be that easy. It would be like watching your father or brother die in front of your very eyes.

"I promise," he forced out. Eiko closed her eyes, thanking the Gods. If Blank saw reason, perhaps he could convince the others to not come after her, as well.

She had to live through one of the most terrible disasters in Madain Sari. Nearly everyone died. All her loved ones were gone. If she could go back in time, she wished that she was the one to die, and everyone else lived. That was her wish, and it still applied.

As long as her friends were alive, she wasn't alone.

Not another word was spoken. The two of them sat there in silence like they usually did. Every so often one would glance at the other and quickly glance away. Both of them were probably thinking about the same things. Just different points of view. Eiko knew that Blank didn't agree what she'd just forced him to promise; and that was okay. She was glad he wasn't okay with it. Still, she had a feeling that he was lying. The regular girl would be flattered. Eiko was terrified.

Suddenly, Eiko began fidgeting in her pocket and fished out the last jewel to Alexandria. Looking at it thoroughly, she noted the intricate light purple designs. The way it shone through the slight moonlight caused a small content smile on Eiko's face. No longer would she be the bearer of such a burden.

Blank looked down as Eiko lightly grabbed his hand and opened his palm, placing the gem inside it. It was his now. His responsibility. It was up to Tantalus to keep it safe. Before Eiko took her hand away, Blank clenched his hand, clenching her hand in his, as well. Eiko looked at the awkward handshake and then into Blank's belted eyes. She only saw the very bottom of his eyes, but they were both serious and sad. Like he would weep at any moment but couldn't, due to his pride of masculinity. Eiko could relate. She didn't like to cry.

"I won't let him find you," he said, very seriously, slightly putting comfortable pressure on her hand. Eiko bit her lip, touched by the gesture and thought. He could try. He could promise that. But even she knew he couldn't guarantee anything. Besides, he seemed to be trying to convince himself; not her.

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_Reviews? Messages? I'd love some feedback (:_


	11. Preparing for the Transfer

**The Outlaw of Madain Sari**

Hey! I meant to update awhile ago but...things got in the way. I've just been coping with some stuff lately. But I have the next chapter! Hope you enjoy (:

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**XI  
**Preparing for the Transfer

* * *

It was decided. Eiko was to be secretly transported from Alexandria to Pinnacle Rocks via Gargan Roo, and then escorted, safely, to Lindblum. The only people that knew of the plan were, of course, Zidane, Dagger, Steiner, Marcus, and Blank, as well as two Knights of Pluto that Steiner deemed worthy. Leon was not informed for safety and obvious reasons. He was too young to have to worry about such hazards.

Zidane, distracting the guards from the Queen's quarters, will insist that there has been a security breach near his son's room and they are ordered to check it out. Dagger will quickly open the underground tunnel sneaking Marcus, Blank and Eiko down it. Then, they make their way on the Gargant to Pinnacle Rocks, Marcus and Blank defending Eiko and hopefully preventing her from conjuring a summon, because everyone knew what would happen if it came to that.

It was decided to die Eiko's hair for purple hair was much too obvious for the risky journey they were about to take. It was no secret that the Gargan Roo was linked through Alexandria, Treno and Lindblum. All three of those cities were most likely major suspects for Gilgamesh to guard. She was to be dressed as a commoner, not a thief or a Princess, and so were Blank and Marcus. They begged Marcus to take off his bandana and Blank his belt, but both of them refused. Eiko insisted it was fine. After that dream…well…even if it wasn't remotely true, she could see where they stood.

Steiner was ordered to leave about half a day in advance. He was to fly an airship from Alexandria to Lindblum with the two Pluto Knights to wait upon the arrival of the three. That way they could board through the Lindblum airship entrance and would ask for the Regent. Steiner would escort Eiko to the highest room of Lindblum castle and Marcus and Blank would head back to the Tantalus hideout with the jewel in hand, hopefully presenting themselves as unsuspicious.

Should anything go wrong, Steiner would be able to tell from the delay and would, therefore, be in close quarters with Lindblum. This was the last resort. If the worst was suspected, Steiner would inform the Regent that his daughter was in danger, and it was assumed that Cid would not spare any time. They were to have his guards (who were not emotionally or past connected to Eiko in any way) out lickety split sending airships to several different locations that Eiko claimed she would suspect Gilgamesh to take her, including: Madain Sari, Daguerro and Esto Gaza. A team would also be sent down Fossil Roo in case Gilgamesh was without a means of transportation.

It was the perfect plan. None of them could see any flaw in it. This insured the secrecy of the transfer, letting as little people as possible know of it. Many people in the Alexandria castle knew Eiko was there. Just in case Gilgamesh got a hold of any one of them, she needed them to not know where she was. Just in case. Same with Lindblum. No one could know.

So, Dagger and Eiko were in the bathroom a couple days later. Eiko's hair was wet and smelled terrible as Dagger lathered her hair in the brown disgusting melted poop, as Eiko referred to it as. Dagger had plastic gloves on as she handled the material and Eiko glanced up at her. She had a very different and confusing look on her face. As if she were about to cry.

"I wish it were me in this situation, Eiko," she finally said. Eiko sighed. How to say this without being degrading or condescending?

"I'm stronger than you."

Dagger nodded. "Yes, you are." She didn't sound too content about that. It seemed to worry her more than anger. "I still wish it were different circumstances."

"I'm glad it's me and not you," Eiko admitted. To have such terrible things happen to Dagger? No, Eiko was glad it happened to her. Dagger's expression didn't change. Her face was sombre. Deciding to lighten the mood, Eiko's smile grew. "Whatever happens, we'll always remain good rivals forever, right?"

Dagger laughed through her crowning tears, remembering all those years ago. When Dagger became the Queen of Alexandria and her and Eiko traded jewels, Eiko remembered saying something along those lines. She was head over heels in love with Zidane at the time, so Dagger had always been her childhood rival because of the fact that Zidane was madly in love with her. It was a joke shared between Dagger and Eiko from time to time, when they got to see each other, that is.

Dagger ruffled Eiko's wet hair a bit causing Eiko to squint and laugh. "Oh, Eiko. You say funny things sometimes," she voiced, mimicking herself from long ago.

Walking out of the bathroom, the girls found themselves walking in the throne room. The first time they all saw her with her short brunette hair that was similar to the way Dagger's looked when she cut it. A couple inches shorter, though. The colour and length were so short, not to mention they were from the same tribe, that Dagger and Eiko almost looked like sisters. The guards had been dismissed and the room was occupied with Zidane, Blank, Marcus and Steiner who stared at Princess Eiko in shock.

Eiko widened her eyes, awkwardly. "Quit staring at me like that! You're making me uncomfortable," she laughed.

"I think you look splendid, Princess Eiko," Steiner told her with a small salute. "The perfect disguise!"

"I don't think so," Blank said with a laugh. "Any boob could figure out that she's the princess."

"It's the dress," Marcus noted.

"Well, no shit, it's the dress," Blank said, as if you had to be stupid to even say that. Eiko just shook her head and laughed. This was why she didn't want them to come after her. Because they were such good people.

Zidane was looking at Blank with a smile. Blank only glared back. "You have to say it."

"I'm _not_ gonna say it-" Blank protested.

"Say what?" Eiko asked, curious.

"Come on," Zidane said, teasing Blank playfully and nudging his shoulder.

"No."

Marcus stepped in front of the two and kneeled in front of Eiko, looking up at her. "I shall hereby do my best to kidnap you."

Eiko couldn't stop the smile from stretching across her face. After the war, everyone went into story time, telling everyone interesting stories about each other and different encounters that stuck out in their minds. When Dagger and Zidane first met, Dagger told Zidane she wished to be kidnapped. And Zidane responded with that cheesy line.

Dagger and Zidane were laughing and walked towards each other, kissing the other playfully on the lips. "And that's when I knew," Dagger said with a smile.

After a bit of playful chatter, it grew serious. Zidane opened the secret entrance and gave a tour to Marcus, Blank and Eiko, showing them where to go. He had gone up from the entrance once before to rescue Dagger so he knew the secrets. He also escaped through here, as well. He showed them the secret entrance to Gargan Roo and then a map as to how far Pinnacle Rock was from Alexandria.

After discussing the tutorial, they decided they would take off the following morning. Gilgamesh would probably expect them to travel by night, that way less people would notice. Therefore, to contradict his theory, they would travel by dawn and sunshine. Just to throw him off a bit, if they could. Steiner was the leave that afternoon so he could meet them there by daybreak and if they weren't there by dusk, he was to go to Plan B.

By night fall, Steiner had already left and Eiko was sent to bed early that night to prepare for the journey and stress tomorrow. Dagger and Leon were already in bed as well. As usual, the Tantalus brothers stayed up, reminiscing.

That night, Eiko was woken up from her sleep by nightmares. When she looked around, hopefully for someone to talk to, she noticed that Marcus and Blank still weren't in bed. How long did reminiscing take? As she lied in bed for another ten minutes, she realized she wasn't getting to sleep any time soon. It was the anxiety of the following morning that was keeping her up. Not unlike the anxiety she had during the first few weeks that she had become princess.

She was going to see her father tomorrow…Regent Cid. What was he going to say? Eiko was slightly worried. She hadn't seen Cid in over three years. Would she be able to call him father? Would he be angry with her? Blame her for everything that has happened? Cid wasn't always the nice guy that people think of him as and, as a father, he was rather strict.

Trying to get her mind off it, she made towards the kitchen. On her way, she saw Zidane, Blank and Marcus sitting together on the stairs. She heard her name mentioned…and then she was lost into the conversation. Kneeling down behind the stair wall, she lay with the palms of her hands upon her chin, listening.

"-that we're not allowed to follow her," Blank said, Eiko not catching the beginning of his sentence.

"If what?" Zidane asked, sceptically.

"If she's captured by-"

"And why wouldn't we?" Zidane said, yelling quietly, not wanting to wake the entire castle up.

"Her dream, Zidane," Blank said, impatient. "She was talking to me about it-"

"She told you about her dream?"

"Just parts. Zidane, we all died. All of us, she said, in front of her. She caved and summoned Alexander, not being able to take it. How guilty do you think she feels Zidane? She's got a big heart. It's probably not the best thing in this current situation."

"I was wondering how he was planning on getting her to summon him," Marcus said, thinking out loud. "He seems to like toying with her. It doesn't seem like she has many friends but the ones she has are special to her."

Zidane was quiet, playing with his tie a bit. "She hates being alone." Blank only nodded.

"We need to stay out of it," Blank pushed. "Let Cid's men deal with the problem if the worst should happen."

"You know I won't," Zidane said as if it were obvious. Blank only nodded, once more. Zidane sighed. "Vivi lives in Treno. He could be useful."

"We'll pick him up on the way if anything happens," Marcus assured him.

"Send him with the Madain Sari crew. Once all this shit is over, he'd probably like a free ride to go see his relatives. Hell, I'll join 'im. Check up on Mikoto and everything."

Eiko kind of admired the way Zidane talked of the future as if nothing bad would happen and they would win. He always had that kind of optimistic 'glass half full' kind of mind set. Something Eiko had always admired in him. Eiko could never get herself to think like that. Nothing ever seemed positive in her life. If she just did what Zidane did, she'd be fine. Look on the bright side.

"You positive she'll be in Madain Sari?" Marcus asked Zidane.

Zidane shrugged. "Daguerro is too populated with people and monsters. Treno is possible, but there are royals there, too, who might recognize her. She was seen there not a month ago, right? Would be too risky. Plus Vivi and Tot are there. As for Esto Gaza, Gilgamesh and Lani aren't really equipped for the cold and I'm not sure they could handle the Red Dragons. How would they get there, anyways, without a full crew for an airship? There's no tunnel to the Ice Continent. Her summon power would be the strongest at Madain Sari and they can go through Fossil Roo. Plus, Lani's lived there and that's where Gilgamesh trained her. It's the one place where _nobody_ is. The only downside is that Gilgamesh will be expecting us."

Blank cut in. "Which is exactly why Eiko didn't want to get us involved-"

"Stop being a wuss, Blank!" Zidane said, agitated. "Damnit, you're not married to her or anything; you don't have to follow her every word. She's only nineteen. She doesn't know any better. Of course she wouldn't want to get us involved. You think Kuja wanted me to go in that wreckage and save his ass? No, but I did it anyway."

Blank and Marcus rolled their eyes. Stupid Zidane and his big head of nobility. Always having to rub it in their faces to do the right thing. Sometimes, the right thing was stupid and risky. It could hurt somebody.

"Do you really want to make Eiko watch you die?" Marcus asked.

Zidane was speechless at this question. The thought of this possibility obviously didn't occur to him. "It won't come to that," he said, seeming slightly doubtful.

"Oh, really?" Blank asked, lying onto the ground now, annoyed. "Name one reason that going over there would be a good idea despite your big head?"

"You don't need a reason to help people."

"You're an idiot, Zidane."

"…" All three of them lied down on the ground. "I know."

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_Special thanks to khooxp and Cherie R. Lynn for reviewing my last chapter! Thanks so much! Keeps me going_


	12. Bahamut

**The Outlaw of Madain Sari**

So, I finally got inspiration for this story and wrote a few chapters! They should be up soon. I'm almost done writing this story. Probably less than five chapters left. W00t! I can finally be done with this! About time, right?

Anyway, hope you like this chapter. This is when the action starts to happen. w00t!

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**XII  
**Bahamut

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"Wake up," she heard. Eiko stirred, wincing in her content sleep. "Eiko, wake up!"

Someone was shaking her. Barely opening her eyes, she saw Marcus above her and Eiko raised her head, rubbing her eyes. She almost forgot. Looking out the window, she saw that it was still slightly dark out but you could tell by the sky that it was soon to be morning. They were soon to be out of here.

"We have to leave," Blank said, looking out the window. He threw a bag at her. "Hurry up. Get changed," he ordered.

It didn't take an idiot to see that Blank was aggravated about something. Eiko knew that the Tantalus brothers had that argument last night. It didn't seem too terribly bad but…it was about Eiko. Was he mad at her?

A little hesitant, Eiko grabbed the clothes and went into the bathroom to change. Marcus and Blank were already dressed in their commoner clothes. She put on the old, brown ragged pants with a white shirt and a dark brown workers vest. If no one knew any better, she looked like a male synthesizer's apprentice. Looking into the mirror, she stared at her hair, fingering the bangs a little bit. She missed her purple hair. Last night, Dagger had cut her hair even shorter than it was before so, now, she looked more like a boy than ever. The hair was still long enough to cover her horned wound but other that…it was a perfect disguise. Her old self was slowly disappearing in the mirror with everything she did.

Coming out of the bathroom, she put on her brown gloves and boots. She grabbed her brown backpack, making sure that two items were there: her flute, and her horn. Just in case something happened, she had her last resort. Her secret weapon: Bahamut.

"There's a suspicious person in the theatre," Zidane said to the guards in the throne room. The female Alexandria guards stared at him. "Well, look into it!" he ordered. Immediately, the guards were off, checking the theater for any thieves or stolen items. It seemed retarded enough to get them away for at least a little bit. Zidane gave three knocks on the door of the Queen's bedroom and Dagger came out. Then, Blank, Marcus and Eiko appeared in the main entrance. They had been waiting for the guards to leave.

"You didn't have to get up," Eiko said, walking over to Dagger.

"Of course I did," Dagger whispered. "I had to see you off." Dagger knelt slightly in front of Eiko and examined her. She smiled. "You look nothing like Princess Eiko. No one will recognize you. Hmm…" she hummed with a satisfied smile. "Give Uncle Cid a kiss for me," she said as she kissed the top of Eiko's forehead, who quickly wiped it off.

Then, Dagger pressed the lever to open the secret entrance to the basement through the fireplace. Marcus, Blank and Zidane did a 'T' hand gesture to one another. The Tantalus promise symbol. It caused Eiko to smile a bit. At least they hadn't changed much.

As they walked through the tunnel, they heard a slam; and the door was shut. Dagger and Zidane would be going back to bed. There was no turning back now. Blank gave a look towards Eiko as he waited for her to compose herself. Drawing a few deep breaths, she turned around and Blank nodded at her, taking up the rear behind her while Marcus took the lead.

They walked in silence; the steps down the tunnel echoing through the chamber. She glanced back at Blank, whose attention was on the ground. He still seemed agitated. Marcus just had a look of determination. Eiko bit her lip.

"Did I do something?" she asked. Both of them were startled from the sudden speech and looked at her.

"Like what?" Marcus asked.

"You guys have been acting really weird around me." Blank and Marcus exchanged an awkward and confusing glance that caused Eiko to get annoyed. It was the 'I know something you don't know' look. Eiko rolled her eyes. "Like that. What is that?!"

They were walking down the final stairs onto a platform that was right in front of the Gargant Roo. Marcus heaved a sigh and turned around. "I'm going to go call the Gargant. Don't take too long."

Eiko folded her arms and tapped her foot slightly on the ground. "I heard you guys talking last night-"

"What did you hear?" he asked, with a look of embarrassment and panic. Eiko narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked.

"What? No-"

"I heard you guys fighting about coming after me. Look, I knew Zidane would never sit still for a minute. He's just like me. We think alike. Why do you think I lied about where Gilgamesh would take me?" Blank's eyes widened as he processed this information. He was about to raise his voice when Eiko silenced him. "Did you think I was stupid?" she asked, angrily.

"You lied about the location?" Blank was furious. "Eiko, how do you expect anyone to help you without your cooperation?"

"Exactly."

Blank ran his fingers through his hair, angrily. Man, this girl was impossible sometimes. "You're _that _stubborn ?" Eiko shrugged. Blank couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Okay, so, where do _you _think he's going to take you?"

"I don't know. Somewhere relatively close," she admitted. "But I know where he's _not_ taking me."

"And where would that be?" he asked.

"Madain Sari," she said like it was obvious. "It's too predictable. Gilgamesh likes his privacy. I'm not retarded. I knew Zidane would follow me. So, I gave the plan a few realistic locations that Zidane could waste his time with. That way he would be safe."

"Well, maybe he'll go there _because_ it's predictable." Eiko didn't understand. "How did you figure he was going to get you to summon Alexander without threatening your friends? He clearly knows your weakness or he wouldn't have taken Dagger or Leon in the-"

"I don't have a weakness!" Eiko screamed, cutting in. When Eiko was a child, she prided herself in her independence and that she could steal from anybody, no problem. Fitting into Tantalus for the small amount of time she'd been there was no big deal. When she was a child, she had no weakness. She was small. Stealthy. Cunning. And, not to mention, to anyone older than a child and not a dwarf, she was adorable. Her cute little pudgy face could fool anyone.

She hated admitting to having a weakness; even though, she had many. Her close combat skills were not all that great and her heart was way too big. Most people would think that would be a good thing. Or that being away from her family and friends for three years would have dissolved that love; but, it only made it stronger. It goes along with the saying: _You don't really know what you got until it's gone._

She missed her father…

At this outrage, Blank only smiled. So prideful. So much like Zidane, he noted. If one didn't know them well enough and then met the two, you'd think they were related. Aside from the fact that they look nothing alike, they still have that spunky, scrappy, cocky personality and a pride that not even a heavy weight could shatter.

"I'm only saying you seem awfully sure of yourself. You don't know what he's planning."

"I can guess."

"Okay, how do you guess he was going to get you to summon Alexander, then?" Eiko didn't have anything to say to that. "Exactly." Echoing across the chamber, they heard a Gargant coming into the station and Blank nodded forward. "Come on. That's the gargant. Marcus is waiting."

Without another word, Eiko angrily sulked ahead. She was thinking about retaliating to Blank about how he was wrong and that she knew better than anyone about what Gilgamesh would do. There were plenty of things Gilgamesh would try to get the information out. He can't be _that_ smart to actually have a full-proof plan. As she planned out what she was about to say, she took just two steps and, suddenly, in place of her outrage was a loud and obnoxious bang. Eiko jumped and turned around to see a large metal gate four times her height separating her and Blank.

Eiko and Blank ran to the gate, clasping their hands around the bars like separated lovers and each of them had a panicked look on their face.

"I can't believe I forgot about this," Blank mumbling, glancing behind him, waiting for someone to show up. Eiko gave him a confused stare. "This happened to Zidane, only Marcus and I were the ones bustin' him out! Damnit!" he yelled.

"My, my, my, I must say, little Eiko, you are quite predictable," someone said. A figure suddenly appeared on Blank's side. Gilgamesh. Who else would it be? He had a dagger in his hand and was stroking it like he would a pet.

"Marcus!" Blank yelled through the chamber. The echoed alarm was sounded.

"I was wondering when you'd come out of your little castle, Princess."

Eiko was breathing pretty hard. She was grasping Blank's wrist through the bars, worried about him. He was on Gilgamesh's side. She knew that Blank could take care of himself…still. She was terrified. Behind her, she heard someone's footsteps and a yell.

"Eiko?!" Marcus.

"Take her, Marcus!" Blank ordered.

Eiko looked panicked. "But-"

"I said go, Eiko," he ordered.

Not really wanting to, Eiko released her hold on Blank's wrist. But, as she turned around and Marcus was about to come to her, another gate popped up, trapping her inside the box. Eiko was breathing even harder now. She was surrounded.

Both of them cursed.

"Eiko," Blank whispered through gritted teeth. "Give it to Marcus."

Appearing in his fist behind his back was the Alexander summon gem. She lightly grabbed it and backed up away from Blank, staring at Gilgamesh with fear. As she ran into the other gate and turned around, she saw Lani on the other side, blocking Marcus from access. Her fists clenched around the jewel. Now, she was really trapped. They could take both her and the summon gem if they wanted to.

Gilgamesh began to laugh.

"And here I thought I was dealing with three master thieves," he said, sounding mockingly disappointed. "Shame. I thought it would have been a bit more fun."

"If you touch _one_ hair on her head, I swear to God-" Blank started.

Gilgamesh wasted no time. He threw the dagger with such force and it impaled himself on Blank's knee, causing him to fall to the ground. Eiko squealed. Gilgamesh removed his bow and arrow from his back and pointed an arrow at Blank's chest, getting ready to fire.

"She belongs to me. I'll touch as many hairs as I need," he said, almost spitting on Blank. Eiko let out a gulp. From the look on Gilgamesh's face, he was about to fire.

"Let him go!" Eiko yelled. "It's not them you want. It's me-"

"Shut up, Eiko," Blank said.

"Just don't hurt th-"

"This is exactly what he wants."

"I don't care!"

Suddenly, Blank removed the dagger that Gilgamesh had thrown at him and chucked it back at high speed towards him. It successfully impaled his left shoulder. Gilgamesh was losing his patience. He fired the arrow right in Blank's chest. Blank fell to the ground, grunting.

Marcus was, thankfully, not getting himself in trouble. Eiko was pretty sure he had some sort of pride issue when it came to harming girls. A lot of guys had that problem, she supposed. Every guy except Gilgamesh, probably. But, Lani remained in front of Marcus, with a look that dared him to proceed. Marcus was simply watching what happened with Blank in misery. The way Marcus saw it was that if they left, they would have to go through him one way or another. He was better off not injured; that way, he could at least do something.

She would waste no time, though. Eiko was not going to sit here and watch as Gilgamesh slowly killed one of her best friends. No, that wouldn't happen. Blank was one of the only people that she could really talk to at the castle. Someone that let her speak when she needed to, but also didn't ask too many questions. Unless, they were important.

In one swift movement, she grabbed her flute out of her backpack and before any arrow or action could be used, she played the most powerful spell she could think of. Bahamut.

Summoning it was ten times more painful than Fenrir had been and, along with Blank, she, too, fell to the floor. Blank gave a momentary look of horror as he looked at Eiko on the ground. This wasn't good. Bahamut? In such close quarters?

Eiko's fists hardened around the edge of the flute as she kneeled on the ground, groaning and yelling through the pain. She just wished her horn would heal. Magic, for some reason, didn't work on it. So, cure was pointless. It made sense, as the horn was also magic. It could probably deflect any sort of magic. The lights in the room suddenly all turned out and for a while, the only noise that could he heard was Eiko's screaming as she dealt with the burning sensation on her forehead. Blank's grunts through his stomach wounds could be heard, as well, which told her she needed to hurry. She felt like she was burning to death, and her forehead was taking the brunt of the damage. But she had to do this. She had to do something!

All of a sudden, there was a bright light and you could suddenly see the Bahamut figure around them, creating a fireball in his mouth. It was clearly aimed towards Gilgamesh as the dragon was situated in front of Eiko, right behind Blank. Blank would not be hurt. Maybe wounded a little bit, but he would not be touched.

"I told you…not…to hurt him," she said, angrily, through huffs. With that, Bahamut released his dragon beam of fire and Eiko felt herself pass out on the ground, her eyes barely open, still clutching the jewel with her fist.

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_Thank you Hikari No Aijou for your review! I'm glad you think the pairing is working. I was a little worried about it but, now, honestly, I seriously love Eiko and Blank together. I'm glad my grown-up Eiko works and I hope you keep reading! _

_Also thanks to anyone who reads but doesn't review, favorites, follows, alerts, etc. I appreciate every little thing you guys do! (But I do love reviews) I didn't say that. lol_


	13. Dilemma

**The Outlaw of Madain Sari**

I like this chapter. Except, unlike other chapters, this is not set in the point of view of Eiko. It's in the perspective of our lovely Blank!

I apologize for the wait, as usual. I'm just not very good at updating. Anyway, hope you like the next chapter.

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**XIII  
**Dilemma

* * *

It all happened so fast. She was such an idiot. She was _his_ idiot…no…she wasn't. He had to get that thought out of his head.

When she cast Bahamut, Blank was at least sure that would do it. There was no way Gilgamesh would be able to survive that blast. Blank wasn't sure at the time if he would survive it either. Sure, the target was in front of him but his head might have been singed off if he chose to stand up for whatever reason. He appreciated the gesture; but, it was risky.

It almost made him smile. Something so drastic would easily be pulled by Zidane. They were more alike than they even knew. It was a drastic action for all the right reasons, at least.

When she passed out and the dragon was cast, something happened. Blank wasn't entirely sure what but the spell reflected off of him. He remembered Gilgamesh laughing as a pink light started shining over him and Blank watched in horror as the dragons fiery breath had now been directed at Eiko. She was passed out. She didn't even know what had happened. For all she knew, Gilgamesh was dead and Blank and Marcus were rushing her to Lindblum. For all she knew, that's where she would wake up. With Blank sitting at her bed with a washcloth on her forehead and all her fears became the past. He would like to say that's what happened.

He almost had a heart attack when he saw the beams on her. _She's dead_, he thought. No human could survive that blow. Even if she did, he wouldn't know how to help her as she was dying. He prepared for the worst as the beams started to die down. He remembers screaming her name a lot…she couldn't be dead.

She wasn't dead.

Through the bars, he saw something. It was weird to be on the third person side of it now. To actually see what it did to people. Looking at Eiko, she was a stone encased in ice. Someone had petrified her. Blank didn't remember what it was like to be stone for who knows how long. He remembered what had happened when he woke up. When the Supersoft was given to him, he fell onto the ground face forward with an –oof— and grunted as he sat up. He remembered saving Zidane and, honestly, it felt like that had happened only moments ago.

The whole thing brought back memories. He took his life for Zidane. He wished he could have taken his life for Eiko, as well, had he been given the opportunity.

Suddenly, the ice protecting her stony cage began to melt. Confused, Blank's eyes wandered around trying to find the source of the magic. Gilgamesh answered it for him. The gate behind Blank closed and Blank fell backwards. He saw the other gate was closed. Marcus was up to the front of the gate now. Behind him, Lani lay, dead, behind him. She must have been killed along with the impact of Bahamut. Clearly, Gilgamesh only saw it fit to equip reflect to himself, the selfish bastard.

"Thank you, 288," Gilgamesh said, tightening his gloves. He walked towards Eiko and smiled. If Blank had been stronger and not wounded in two painful places, he would have tried to take the guy down. He could barely stand up.

Blank stared, horrified, at 288. Black Mage 288 was one of their really good friends. After the war, he and Mikoto, Zidane's actual sister, took charge of the Black Mage Village helping the Genomes and Mages adjust to a free life. He would never do something like this.

"I am sorry, my friend," 288 said to Blank.

"You emotionless freak!" he screamed. Okay, it was out of line, but this was a personal attack. To attack the Princess of Lindblum?! How stupid could you get?

Gilgamesh examined the damage of Eiko and nodded, inferring that she was alright. "Yes, very nice work, my black mage'd friend. I knew I kidnapped Mikoto for a reason."

"You conniving bastard," Blank said, calmly, spitting at the floor. The spit had specks of blood in it. It made a little sense to him now. If he kidnaped Mikoto, 288 would cave. Him and Mikoto were practically dating, though no one really asked. They were like…involved business partners and they were both intellectually advanced for their kind. And by their kind, he meant soulless morons; though he'd never say anything like that to Vivi or Zidane.

Wait a second…if he kidnapped Mikoto…then…that means they've been to Black Mage Village. How on earth did they get there and back so quickly? There's no way Fossil Roo was that quick. That place was extremely complicated.

The second gate closed and before Marcus could even attempt to do anything, the Black Mage fired at him with fire, sending him to the ground. Gilgamesh slightly kicked the dead body of Lani and sighed a bit. Parts of her body were burned badly, including her face and parts of her hair. She was bleeding, but clearly dead. It even made Blank sad, a little.

"Such a shame. She was such a useful tool." And that's all was said about his dead partner in crime. How disgusting. "It was truly lovely meeting you two boys," Gilgamesh said with a smile. "We'll be waiting in Madain Sari. I trust I'll see you there."

He said that on purpose. Gilgamesh knew that they had a plan. They knew that people would be coming after them. Zidane. Dagger. Blank. Marcus. And he was going to use them all to get Eiko to break. Could he really take them all, though? Was he that powerful? Surely he couldn't be any more powerful than Kuja if he couldn't control a summon. Still…just one might be enough to break Eiko. It wouldn't take much.

There was a floating spell cast on the stoned body of Eiko and there was nothing he could do about it as Gilgamesh and 288 walked away with his Princess and went into the Gargant. Bastards.

There was one good thing about her petrification. She still had her hand clasped around that gem. It had bought nearly everyone some time. And at least Blank didn't have to worry about Gilgamesh doing anything funny when she was like that. Still.

After what happened, Marcus didn't waste any time. The fire had only stunned him a bit. He wasn't that injured. So, he ran over to his friend and started fumbling with his materials that he had in his pack. To the best of his ability, he cast a low-levelled healing spell on his stomach and then gave him a potion, covering up his knee wound with a gauze-like material.

"We have to go," Marcus rushed. He helped Blank up, putting his arm around his shoulder and went into the Gargan Roo. There was another gargant, thankfully, and Marcus piled Blank into it.

"Zidane told us to bring Vivi-" Marcus suggested as they neared towards Treno.

Blank shook his head. "Forget about it. Gilgamesh has 288. It's risking too much. He's better not knowing." Marcus disagreed, but they continued and made their way towards Lindblum.

It wasn't Lindblum. The Gargan Roo actually went to Pinnacle Rocks which was right near Lindblum. Zidane told them how they broke that entrance through after being chased by some huge snake. Every so often, they'll hear him mutter something about snakes as he sleeps. It got quite amusing after a while, actually.

When they got there, they saw something surprising. They weren't too far behind Gilgamesh, it seemed, as they had just arrived when an airship was pulling away. From the looks of it, the ship was crewed with Black Mages and Genomes. Wouldn't Zidane be pissed? It was Kuja all over again.

Things happened in a blur after that. Running at a very fast pace, they ended up running into Steiner. Once they told him what happened, he didn't waste any time. They went to Lindblum and demanded to see the Regent, claiming they had news on the missing Princess. Blank told them to waste no time or men going towards other useless places such as Treno or Fossil Roo. Blank and Marcus knew where they were going. Even if it was a trap, they were headed to Madain Sari; and they had an army of genomes and black mages, by the looks of it. Why didn't the black mages fight back? They could kill that guy in five seconds…..Blank just didn't understand. Then again, they were soulless and they didn't know what it was to think. It probably wasn't as hard as Blank was making it out to be. Not all of the mages were as logical as Vivi or 288.

Plans were being made as they rounded up people to come with them. Steiner went back to Alexandria on the Red Rose to inform Zidane and Garnet the news of her kidnapping so they could make arrangements to fly to Lindblum with their select troops, and they'd all depart at the same time. The Regent was to go aboard the Eiko Carol 2, a ship he made after the prototype that came shortly after her disappearance. He planned to give it to her as a welcome home present whenever she decided to return. It hasn't been used for around two years.

All Blank was worrying about is that if Zidane would listen to a word he had said the night before. Probably not. In fact, the only one who intended to keep to his promise of not going after her was Blank, and it was taking all his energy not to. Why the hell did he agree to such a ridiculous promise in the first place?

* * *

The following day, Blank drank his body weight away at the pub in the Industrial District. Bobo kept telling him that enough was enough. He'd had one too many to drink and that he wouldn't even be able to walk straight. Blank told him that he'd never had a problem with alcohol in his life. It just didn't affect him; not really. It was probably because of the fact that he was basically Frankenstein's monster that it didn't ever bother him. Blank could hold his alcohol surprisingly well.

"So, you're not gonna go after her," Marcus said as a questionable statement. Blank didn't even notice him sitting next to him at the pub and Blank didn't even turn his head as he lowered his drink.

"Don't patronize me." The one thing that happened to Blank when he was drunk was that he got very angry, very fast. His tone was not amused.

"I'm just saying, if the girl I loved was-"

"I don't love her-"

"Like Zidane said, you guys aren't married. Do what you want."

"I promised her I would stay away," Blank said. "You heard what she said in the dream."

"It was a dream. Not real life."

"Regardless, Marcus! What if it happens! What if, somehow, that bastard gets a hold of me and Eiko breaks. I could never do that to her."

"Stop thinking you're so special, Blank," Marcus laughed. Blank didn't look at him but instead rolled his eyes and gulped down another glass. "She'd break with anyone. That was just her…nightmare. Out of everyone, she was probably more afraid of losing you." There was around five minutes of silence where Marcus expected him to say something, but he didn't. "All the more reason you should go," he said.

"Why me?" Blank asked. "She could have any young, hot prince of whatever-crappy-town she wanted."

Marcus shrugged. "I dunno. Why did Garnet want Zidane?"

Blank looked at the remaining small amount of liquid at the bottom of his glass and grunted, draining it. "Because she's an idiot. Alexandria would have been better off with a man of royalty for their king, not a thief. Zidane doesn't know the first thing about being king. In fact, half the time, I think he's just winging it. He doesn't even know what he's doing."

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Blank only grunted, still not looking at him. "You think Eiko or Garnet know what they're doing? What about Brahne or Cid? Did they ever, really, know what they were doing or make the right decision? A thief has just as much a right to make mistakes at the throne than a person of royalty."

"I don't wish to be at the throne, Marcus!" Blank said, his temper raising as he slammed his glass onto the counter.

At this, Blank stood up from his seat at the bar and left, walking in a somewhat circular line, as he was drunk, towards the train station. He collapsed on a bench right in front of it, waiting for the next cart. His thoughts turned to Eiko.

What was she doing this second? Was she alright?

Who was he kidding; of course she wasn't alright. She had been petrified and taken to Madain Sari where Gilgamesh would take the remaining Alexander stones and force her to summon him, possibly killing her in the process. What did Gilgamesh plan to accomplish by doing this? Surely he will die attempting this. It takes a mighty person, indeed, to maintain control over such a beast. It was a death wish, the crazy bastard.

It didn't take an idiot to know that he would die…but would Eiko die in the process? Would he try to harm her? Blank closed his eyes tight. Ever since that night, he could not stop thinking about her. She was lying so pitiful in her bed, stirring back and forth, sweat glands dripping down her forehead constantly. She could not be woken up. They had tried, so very desperately, to wake her from her nightmare.

She was screaming. Zidane! Dagger! Marcus! Vivi! Freya! Steiner! All dropping like flies…one by one. But, then.

_"Blank!—No, please – stop –just don't kill him!" _Again and again she muttered his name, desperately, crying. Blank knew it was just a dream, and sometimes dreams can make fools of everyone where you wake up thinking 'where the hell did this come from?' Blank one time had a dream where he was in love with Zidane's sister. It was very odd, indeed, and it did leave a mark over the next couple weeks, but soon faded. As feelings usually do.

And it's exactly what would happen with Eiko. If there was the slightest chance that she _did _like Blank, it would fade. Blank was sure of it. She would find some handsome nobleman in Treno or Alexandria to be her king. Blank could never be her knight in shining armour.

"You're coming with us," he heard. Zidane was standing in front of him with that big dorky smirk on his face with his arms folded. Blank looked up at him and sighed.

"I will not."

"Why?" Zidane demanded.

"Because I keep my promises," Blank explained. Zidane sighed, sitting down on the bench next to Blank. "You're wasting time with me. You need to be out there if you wish to-"

"Blank," Zidane interrupted. "I used to know a man who was always helping me. There was never a reason for it. He was always there for me. To rescue me out of jams when I was new at thieving. To give me potions to give to pretty girls who were dying…and to sacrifice himself for his friend not knowing what the consequences would be."

Blank said nothing.

"That man taught me something. You don't need a reason to help people."

There was silence for a long time. They both knew who Zidane was talking about. The words hurt like knives because Blank wanted nothing else but to help her…but.

"I gave her my word, Zidane."

"You're a thief, Blank," Zidane laughed. "Only men of royalty and knighthood keep their word. Do you wish to be such?"

"Don't make me laugh," Blank scoffed. "I was born a thief. I was raised a thief. And I will die a thief."

"So, you'll let her die, then?" Zidane asked, serious.

This comment caused a smile to appear on Blank's face. "Well, you said yourself. I am a thief. What kind of thief would I be if I could not steal a princess?"

* * *

_Some of the stuff you'll have to embrace ignorance on. Like 288 still being alive and reflect working on summons. But whatever XD I still like this chapter. And I love Blank so, maybe that's why. _

_Thanks JamesBCrazy and Guest for your reviews! Don't know if you're still reading but if you are, I hope you liked this chapter!_


	14. The Great Summon

**The Outlaw of Madain Sari**

Woohoo! Chapter fourteen is done! This will be the second to last chapter, mind you. So, we're almost finished here! Can you believe it?! Is it sad that this story took me three years? haha. Jeez. I need to stop starting so many stories at one time. Anyway, here's the chapter!

* * *

**XIV  
**The Great Summon

* * *

It was a long time before Eiko woke up, and when she did, she wished she was still asleep. Her hands were tied behind a post, and Gilagamesh stood in front of her. His hands were clenching the final jewel, a smirk on his face. It was a smirk of victory. He had won.

Eiko closed her eyes in pain. The last thing she remembered was casting the spell Bahamut and passing out. What had happened? Was Blank okay? What about Marcus? Did Gilgamesh attack the castle? Were all the people she held dear gone?

Was she alone?

She was pretty sure about the fact that she would die today, because there's no way she would cast Alexander for him. What she currently was aware of was that no one she knew or loved was here, so he had no leverage over her. They could not force her to cooperate, and she wouldn't. Eiko would die here, today, most likely. There was no way she was going to be the cause of several thousands of deaths. He couldn't force her to do that.

"It looks like I have won," he gloated, getting inches away from her face. Eiko scrunched up her face.

"Not quite," she told him. No, not quite.

Gilgamesh only smiled. "I always loved your pride, Eiko. You are, truly, a strong and confident woman. It's a shame you never cooperated. We could've avoided this whole fiasco if you'd have only agreed to help me."

"I won't agree to killing my friends!" she screamed.

Gilgamesh laughed. He took his thumb and index finger and squeezed her chin. Eiko shook her head, violently trying to escape from his grasp, but his hold was tight.

"So loyal. And yet you still ran away from them. You betrayed your friends, Eiko. What makes you think they're even coming to save you?"

"I hope they don't," she growled. "Then you won't have any control over me and, oh, you can't _stand _that, can you?"

"I have all the control I need over you, my lovely princess." His hand brushed through her short, now brown hair, while Eiko glared him down. "You're here now, and that's what matters, right? I missed you."

"You missed your precious Alexander."

Gilgamesh only smiled. "So proud."

All of a sudden, Gilgamesh let out a whistle and almost out of nowhere, the entire village, it seemed, walked out into Eiko's sight. They were lined up like soldiers and went to stand behind Gilgamesh while Eiko could only gaze in horror. How on earth did he get the black mages on their side? How did he manage to do that?!

He seemed to take quite an amount of glee in Eiko's reaction, clearly it being the one he wanted. She truly was outnumbered, and it was in his intention for her to see that. Any means of escape would be futile. Not like she'd have much chance to, anyway. She could barely summon, and, at that, she could barely move. Getting out of petrification can take a toll on your body, though, she probably wasn't even aware she _was_ petrified.

"No," she said, out loud. Gilgamesh chuckled.

"Oh, yes. I've been meaning to tell you. I've gathered up some new recruits since your disappearance."

"Why have they joined you?! What've you done?!" she screamed.

"You don't think that I'd gain my true presence in this world with just Alexander, do you? Ha! Such a blind little girl. I needed to go after more people of influence. Lani wasn't enough."

Her teeth gritted. "I will _never_ summon Alexander for you, Gilgamesh! You can kill me AND my friends, but you will NEVER push me to that edge. Not ever."

At this, Gilgamesh's smile grew even further. He, clearly, knew something that she did not and it was almost too good to keep it inside him.

"My dear Eiko, whoever said _you_ were going to summon the eidolons? No, silly. I will be taking them from you."

Those words made Eiko freeze and she was too short of breath for words. He would be extracting her eidolons from her…why had she never considered that?! How could she have been so stupid? She had forgotten all about that power, quite frankly. Perhaps she tried to block it from her mind. The last time someone had tried to extract her eidolons, a moogle saved her life. She wouldn't be so lucky this time.

The fact of being truly powerless…it frightened her. Without her summon magic, Eiko was nothing. She had no physical strengths. Magic was all the defense that she had. How could he take that away from her? Not only Alexander, but all the other eidolons that she'd worked so hard to control over the years. All of that work…gone.

She would be at the mercy of Gilgamesh…forever. There'd be no way for her to escape, or fight.

"When the war gets here, as it surely will, I will kill all that come to fight. I will go to every kingdom and declare war, killing all who stand in my way, while I take every prized possession, every valuable magical item, and claim it to be mine. The money will go to the poor and the thieves will rule the world. Every nobleman will be a thief and every thief a millionaire! The tables of the world are turning, Princess Eiko Carol-Fabool, and it all starts…with you."

Eiko said nothing but stared in horror. None of this was about ruling the world. It was about thieves being put in their proper place. Not all thieves were as honourable as Zidane and Tantalus were. There would be blood, and death. Revenge would be taken. Rules would be broken. The law would be sabotaged, and chaos would reach the world. With no order to run it, it would surely go up in smoke. Literally.

"See you when I'm wealthy, my queen. 288, put her to sleep."

And before she could say anything, the Princess of Lindblum passed out and became the mercy of the thief, Gilgamesh.

The ship was filled with almost everyone: Zidane, Garnet, Tantalus, Steiner, Freya, even Amarant. Plus countless others, of course. Guards from both Alexandria and Lindblum attending the rescue mission, including the Regent Cid and his wife, Hilda.

"It's been so long," the Regent said. "Three years."

Hilda stood there, quietly, staring at the sky at these words. She had missed her darling daughter. Even though she wasn't her own flesh and blood, that child was very dear to her. She missed her very much.

"You'll see her again, Regent. Alive. I promise," Blank said. Of course, he's proving right now that he doesn't always keep his promise. But this one he intended to keep even if his life depended on it. He just hoped he wasn't too late. That he hadn't been spending her last breathing moments moping in a bar downing whiskey while she was screaming in torturous pain. He ached just thinking about it.

Zidane came over and put a hand on Blank's shoulder, looking at the Regent. "And Blank _never_ breaks his promises. Do ya, Blank?" he asked, winking. Of course, Zidane was only joking, but it still hurt Blank inside. What if something happened? What if he wasn't able to save her? It killed him.

"Just don't be a hero, Zidane. It's obnoxious," he growled. Zidane only grinned.

"Never."

Dagger and Freya came back to the bridge at this moment and stood next to the lot of them. Dagger was clutching her staff in her hand; something she hadn't used since their journeys together. She sort of promised herself ever since she became Queen and Leon was born that her adventure days were over. For the safety of her kingdom and her son, she couldn't divulge in battles anymore. But this was different, and she would also be willing to break her promise. It seemed like there was a lot of that going on.

"The sky leans towards victory, at least," Freya said. "Something tells me she's still alive, or is fighting. Otherwise we would be reaching chaos at this point."

When they began to get into a conversation, Dagger tugged on Blank's arm and pulled him aside. Blank wasn't sure why but he almost wished she hadn't once she began to talk. Of course, it was about Eiko.

"Zidane told me about….what really happened that night." Blank looked at her in confusion. "The night she had the dream. What she said about you." Blank rolled his eyes and glared over at Zidane who was currently talking with the Regent. The night before Blank and Marcus took Eiko from the castle, the Tantalus boys were just chilling on the stairs. Blank was telling them not to go after Eiko, which Zidane ignored, of course. They also got into talking about what _really_ happened. How Eiko kept saying Blank's name, screaming it, almost. That Blank was the one that broke her. She caved because of him.

Because she loved him? Maybe.

"Please don't be angry," she pleaded. "I just. I wanted to tell you. I'm thankful for everything you've done for her, and haven't done, as well."

"Dagger, come on, I don't want to talk abou-"

"Do you love her?" she suddenly asked. Blank was taken off guard. No one had ever been that straight-forward like that to him. Perhaps it was a girl thing. Girls were still a mystery to him.

"It's not as simple as all that bec-"

"Forgive me. I'm not trying to pry, Blank. It just…it's okay." Blank said nothing. "Coming here with us must have been hard for you; but, I'm glad you did. And doing something like that…I'm just very grateful she has someone like you in her life. She's my sister, really. I want to make sure she's taken care of and safe…and I don't think anyone does that for her better than you do, Blank."

Blank sighed. He could hardly be mad at her when she was saying such nice things. But Blank doesn't really open up to people. He hadn't really thoroughly discussed his feelings for Eiko because, at first, he wasn't even sure if they were there.

"You're basing all of this off a dream, Dagger. Anything I say or want doesn't matter because…I don't know."

Dagger smiled. "She cares for you, Blank. More than you realize."

"She's a princess…" Blank said. At this, Dagger only smiled.

"Zidane is a thief. Don't start thinking she could do better than you, Blank. I've met many nobles, and believe me when I say that Eiko will hate every one of them." They both smiled at this. It was true. Eiko would probably be very picky on the one she married, if she ever did. She wouldn't want some sissy noble boy; that was for sure. "The Regent trusts Tantalus. He wouldn't have a problem with it."

Blank only nodded, glancing at the Regent and his wife, Hilda. Little did they know. He turned his gaze to Dagger and smiled a little bit.

"Thank you." Dagger only nodded and there was a small silence for a while until Zidane walked up to them.

"We're here," he said.

A huge lump began to appear in Blank's throat.

* * *

When they got off the air ship and arrived in Madain Sari, it almost seemed like they were too late. A group went in only to find Eiko on the ground, looking to be unconscious. She held the gem in their hands while a bunch of black mages and genomes stood around her and Gilgamesh in the middle with his arms folded and a smile creeping along his face.

Blank forgot the tell Zidane about the genomes and the mages, and looking at Zidane's face, he felt terrible for not doing it earlier. Zidane looked in absolute shock.

"What are they doing with him? Why? Why aren't they trying to help Eiko?!" Dagger put her arms on Zidane's shoulders in empathy with a sad look on her face. They were all shocked.

Blank only sighed. "Gilgamesh has Mikoto, Zidane." At this, his face turned into more horror. "I'm not sure what he's done to her or where she is…but I can't imagine that they can properly distinguish the value of one life versus several."

"He's got my sister…?" he asked, it still sinking in.

"I'm sorry, Zidane," he said.

"First Eiko, now Mikoto. This bastard's gone too far," he growled. At this, Zidane suddenly took off towards the scene with Blank, Dagger and the rest of them, of course, to follow. They could waste no time. This wasn't a time for strategy plans. Go in, and get out. That was the plan.

They watched as they slowly crept towards him that Gilgamesh was performing some sort of spell around Eiko. It meant nothing to Blank, but Zidane and Dagger seemed horrified by it.

"Zidane, they're…they're-" she choked. Blank couldn't take it anymore.

"What?! What're they doing?!"

Zidane gritted his teeth and shook his head violently, clearly pissed off. "They're extracting their eidolons from her."

"They're what? English, please."

"Gilgamesh is taking her summons from her. He'll be able to control them. God, how could I have been so stupid. He doesn't need her to summon them for him. _He's _going to summon them. Blank, did she tell you what summons she had other than Alexander? What else has she learned?"

Blank only gulped. "She said she's stronger than Dagger, now."

"Damnit," he cursed. "This is bad…where's Vivi when you need him?" he growled.

"I didn't think he'd want to know…" Blank said, referring to the Black Mages.

"I know…but his magic would be helpful right now. Freya?! Where's Freya?"

"Here, Zidane," she said, stepping up from behind him.

"Can you jump?" he asked her. Freya smiled.

"With pleasure."

"Jump?" Blank asked. Before anything else could be said, Freya kneeled and all of a sudden seemed to fly into the air. He couldn't even see her anymore, she jumped so high. Before Blank could think anything else, Zidane had already come up with a plan.

"Dagger, you need to stay here."

"But I-"

"Honey, you're not melee offense. Stay here and if anything happens, summon Odin to clear the comp outta that guy. Everybody else…you come with me. Amarant, here," he said, handing him a weapon known as the Ogre. It was a good weapon, and Amarant knew just what to do with it. "Blank, you got your medicine belt?"

"When don't I?" Blank asked.

"Good. We're gonna need it if he pulls those eidolons out. Steiner, Amarant, Blank; you come with me. Dagger, stay here. Cid, and everyone else…sorry, but you have to return to the ship. If something else happens, something big, we'll need canons. Lots of canons."

"Zidane, do you remember when I told you not to be a hero?" Blank asked, laughing. Zidane was not amused.

He snapped his fingers and everyone went to their assigned battle positions.

* * *

Zidane, Blank, Amarant and Steiner appeared on the ground in front of Gilgamesh. He took no notice of them at the time, still focusing on extracting the eidolons from Eiko and stroking her short brown hair. It made Blank want to puke. It should be _him_ stroking her hair; not that creep.

"Get your hands off her!" Blank couldn't help himself from screaming.

Gilgamesh looked up, suddenly, smiling at the current company. "Oh, I was so hoping you'd join me on my special day," he said with a large grin.

"Where did you put my sister, freak?!" Zidane yelled. "Where is she?!"

"Oh, the monkey girl," he said amused. "Yes, she was fun. It may not surprise you, but you may already know, as a thief, just as we are very good treasure hunters, we have the best hiding spots in the world. You may never see her again."

Zidane was, of course, outraged at this remark. He was about to charge after him when Blank saw something in the sky. Blank grabbed Zidane's shoulders, holding him back, as Freya landed her jump attack, her spear landing on Gilgamesh. She jumped back towards the group, not even a bit out of breath.

"Didn't miss anything, did I?" she asked.

Gilgamesh was wounded, but he still stood up. Looking around at all of them, he smiled. "It's so sweet for you to be my audience. You will be my guinea pigs."

"You took what you wanted from her! Give us Eiko back!" Blank demanded. Gilgamesh chuckled.

"Yes, she has been quite useful," he said, fumbling with the rocks he currently held in his hand, enchanted by the power of her summons that he would soon be taking advantage of. "But like you, I've grown rather fond of her. She hasn't worn herself of her use to me yet."

Blank gritted his teeth at this. The thought of her with that bastard…he'd never let that happen. Not now. Not ever. Never again.

"I've grown tired of talking to you brats." He reached his arm with a gemstone into the air and yelled out, "Alexander! Almighty father of the summons! I seek your aide!"

All of a sudden, the ground began to shake and the group exchanged looks of panic. Alexander. None of them had ever versed that monster before. Just what summons did Eiko learn these past three years? How much stronger was she than Dagger? Did they want to find out?

Breaking through the ground of the ruins of Madain Sari was a giant statue made of rock. The four of them looked in horror at the gigantic summon. Just how strong was this it?

"Zidane-?" Blank started, about to ask how they hell they were supposed to defeat it.

"I don't know…" Zidane said, almost speechless.

In the background, you could hear Gilgamesh laughing. This was his last hurrah.

* * *

_Uh-oh. haha. How's it going to end? In the next chapter...just warning you. Lots of extremely cute fluffy blank and eiko stuff. Just a warning :3 You don't think I'd write this story without a happy ending, do you? There is one bad thing that happens, though..._

_By the way, thank you RylianH for the review! Glad you're liking the story even with its bizarre pairing. haha. _

_I'll try to have the last chapter up within the next month. I haven't started writing it, yet, though. _


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